One of the most dramatic moments during the Civil War occurred in Georgia when Union spys stole the General locomotive in Big Shanty (now Kennesaw), Georgia. Although the Union men failed in their mission, and were executed, they were honored with the very first Medal of Honor awards. Trains continued to play a big part of Georgia's history. However, contrary to what many songs would have you believe, the are not our main form of transportation.

Here are a few lines from Georgia train songs.

"I been to Georgia on a fast train, honey
I wouldn't born no yesterday
I got a good Christian raisin'
And an eighth grade education
Ain't no need in y'all a treatin' me this way"

I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train
by Billy Joe Shaver

"He's leaving
On that midnight train to Georgia
Oh yeah said he's going back to find
A simpler place and time (and when he takes that ride)
Yes he is (guess who's gonna be right by his side)
I'll be with him (I know you will)
On that midnight train to Georgia
(Woohoo)
I'd rather live in his world
Than live without him in mine

Midnight Train to Georgia
by Gladys Knight & The Pips

"I find me a place in a box car
So I take out my guitar to pass some time
Late at night it's hard to rest
I hold your picture to my chest
I feel fine
Rainy night in Georgia
Rainy night in Georgia
And I feel like it's rainin' all over the world"

Rainy Night In Georgia
by Brook Benton

"I was ridin' Number Nine,
Headin' south from Caroline.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
Got in trouble, had to roam,
Left my gal an' left my home.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
Just a kid, actin' smart,
I went and broke my darling's heart,
I guess I was too young to know.
They took me off the Georgia Main,
Locked me to a ball and chain.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow."

Lonesome Whistle
by Hank Williams

"The longest train I ever saw
Went down that Georgia line
The engine passed at six o'clock
And the cab passed by at nine
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And we shiver when the cold wind blows"

In the Pines
by Bill Monroe

"Now there’s a gal from Birmingham
She's long and she's tall
she came down from Georgia
on the Wabash Cannonball"

Wabash Cannonball
by Roy Acuff

"I stopped awhile and rested on the depot steps
The tall pines waved and in the breeze the air was clear and fresh
That Georgia winter sunshine was a warming up my back
And I saw a train coming down the track"

God Came Through Bellville Georgia
by Tom T. Hall

"I’m gonna buy me a ticket as far as I can,
I ain't never comin' back
I’m gonna take me that south-bound,
All the way to Georgia now,
‘Till the train it run out of track
Can't you see, oh, can't you see,
What that woman, she been doin' to me"

Can't You See
by Marshall Tucker Band

When it's springtime down in Georgia
It's winter time up in Maine
You can go from snow to sunshine
If you board a southbound train

Georgia by Elton John

"See that engine puffin' boy she's making time
That old train's blowin' off the rail rail rail
Headin' for the mountain that she's got to climb bringin' in the Georgia mail"

Bringin' In The Georgia Mail
by Flatt and Scruggs

"Lamps in the windows burnin' bright
Over in Santa Fe tonight
Full moon shining down along the border
But the ground is hard and the night is black
Over here by the railroad track
And I wish to the Lord that I was back in Georgia"

Georgia
by The Charlie Daniels Band

"I'd be better off in a pine box,
On a slow train back to Georgia"

I'd Be Better off (In a Pine Box)
by Doug Stone

"But I crossed into Georgia into Eastern Time
And dared to eat a peach to take it off my mind
When life goes wrong this train goes on"

Amtrak Crescent
by Scott Miller

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