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Poor Paddy Works On The Railway
Composer: Traditional

Poor Paddy Works On The Railway was played by Bob & Jerry (Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia) at a private function in May 1961.

Poor Paddy Works On The Railway probably has its origins in the Irish diaspora in America in the mid-1800s. The first reference to this song seems to be as a sea shanty in 1867. A version was recorded for the Lirary Of Congress by Ernest Bourne in the 1940s. The earliest commercial recordings appear to have been made in the 1950s.

The song, or variations of the song, appear with a number of titles including Paddy Works On The Railway, Paddy On The Railway, Paddy Works On The Erie and A-Working on the Railroad. Note that there is unrelated traditional fiddle tune called Paddy On The Railroad.



Recordings

This list is not intended to be comprehensive.

no info Single (Cannily, Cannily / Poor Paddy Works On The Railway), Isla Cameron / Ewan MacColl, 1951
no info Folk Songs And Ballads: A Pete Seeger Concert, Pete Seeger, 1953
no info Ewan MacColl, Isla Cameron, The Topic Singers, Ewan MacColl / Isla Cameron / The Topic Singers, 1954
no info Frontier Ballads Volume II: The Settlers, Pete Seeger, 1954
no info Shuttle and Cage: Industrial Folk Ballads, Ewan MacColl with Peggy Seeger, 1957
no info Americana, The Idlers Of The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 1957
no info Sea Shanties And Loggers' Songs, Sam Eskin, 1958
no info The Real McCoy, Sam Hinton, 1958
no info A Golden Treasury Of Songs America Sings, Win Stracke, 1958
no info The Irish Rover, Dominic Behan, 1960
no info Ewan MacColl Sings British Industrial Ballads, Ewan MacColl, 1961
info A Treasure Chest of American Folk Song, Ed McCurdy, 1961
no info Ceilidh At The Crown, Ian Campbell Folk Group, 1962
no info Fourpence A Day And Other British Industrial Folk Songs, Ewan MacColl, 1963
no info Steam Whistle Ballads, Ewan MacColl with Peggy Seeger, 1964
no info EP (Paddy On The Railway / True Love Don't Weep / The John B Sails / Drill Ye Tarriers Drill), Ian Campbell Folk Group, 1964
no info In A Folk Mood, Elaine And Derek, 1964
info The Folk Box, Various Artists (Pete Seeger), 1964
no info Men at Work: Topic Sampler No 3, Various Artists (Ewan McColl), 1966
no info Single (Seven Drunken Nights / Poor Paddy On The Railway), The Dubliners, 1967
no info A Drop Of The Hard Stuff, The Dubliners, 1967
no info Visit To Ireland, Malachy Doris Ceili Band, 1968
no info Fleadh Night At Mark McLaughlan's, Various Artists (Fianna Folk Group), 1968
no info Single (A Pub With No Beer / Poor Paddy On The Railway), The Dubliners, 1969
no info The World Of Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger, 1970
no info Sullivan's Gypsies, Sullivan's Gypsies, 1970
no info Save The Land!, The Clancy Brothers, 1972
no info Sings Folk Music Of The World, Pete Seeger, 1973
no info Emigrate! Emigrate!, The Irish Rovers, 1973
no info 20 Great Irish Drinking Songs, Jolly Beggarmen, 1975
no info All For Me Grog, Cobbers, 1975
no info Across The Broad Atlantic, The Wolfe Tones, 1976
no info Steam Ballads, Harry Boardman / Kempion / Jon Raven / Tony Rose, 1977
no info Lady On The Shore, Noel Nash, 1977
no info Sea Chanteys And Forecastle Songs At Mystic Seaport, Stuart M. Frank, Stuart Gillespie & Ellen Cohn, 1978
no info Come Back To The Hills, Various Artists (Noel Nash), 1978
no info Gallant Lads Are We: Songs of the British Industrial Revolution, Louis Killen, 1980
no info The Giant Concert Of Concerts Starring The Friendly Giant, 1981
no info Red Roses for Me, The Pogues, 1984
no info Here's To The Dubliners, 1984
no info Castles In The Air, Barley Bree, 1985
no info Wee Sing America, Wee Singers, 1987
info We The People, Various Artists (Northwest Winds), 1987
no info Original Dubliners: 1966-1969, The Dubliners, 1993
no info A Drop Of Pure, Quilty, 1995
no info The Best Of, Barley Bree, 1995
info An American Folk Song Anthology, John Stewart, 1996
no info Irish Party Songs, Sean O'Neill Band, 1997
no info 18 Miles West of Renfrew and Other Songs, Jim Layeux, 1997
no info Across The Broad Atlantic, Shane MacGowan's Popes, 2001
no info Far From The Shamrock Shore, Mick Moloney, 2002
no info Irish Drinking Songs, Various Artists (The Blarney Lads), 2002
no info The Best Of The Original Dubliners, 2003
no info Dublin My Dublin, Dublin City Ramblers, 2003
info American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 3 (exp CD), Pete Seeger, 2004
no info The Performer, Luke Kelly, 2005
no info Ballad Of America Volume 1: Over A Wide And Fruitful Land, Matthew Sabatella, 2005
no info Live At Vicar Street, The Dubliners, 2006
no info Folk Songs, Ballads and Banjo, Pete Seeger, 2006
no info Rhythm + Booze, Authority Zero, 2006
no info Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say...Pogue Mahone, The Pogues, 2008
no info The Water Of Life, Highwaymen, 2008
no info Irishman In America, Johnny Logan, 2008
no info The Definitive Collection, Luke Kelly, 2010
no info Now, Patsy Watchorn, 2011
no info Plug Nickel, Brass Farthing, 2012
no info In Paris: 30th Anniversary Concert At The Olympia, The Pogues, 2012
no info 50 Years, The Dubliners, 2012
no info Short Sharp Shanties Vol. 3: Sea Songs of a Watchet Sailor, Various Artists (Keith Kendrick), 2012
no info Ferocious Dog, Ferocious Dog, 2013
no info The Lone Ranger: Wanted: Music Inspired By The Film, Various Artists (Shane MacGowan), 2013
no info The Triple Album Collection, The Dubliners, 2014
no info The Hunger & The Fight Pt. 1, The Mahones, 2014
no info Lonesome Road: Gems From The Vanguard Vaults, Various Artists (Ewan MacColl / Peggy Seeger), 2014
no info Rescue Rooms, Ferocious Dog, 2017
no info Irish Heart, Angelo Kelly & Family, 2018
no info BBC Sessions 1984-1985, The Pogues, 2020

 
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