When That Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'

Album: Great American Composers (1912)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title is sometimes rendered "When The Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves For Alabam" (with or without the hyphen). The song was published by Ted Snyder of New York in 1912; Berlin was hired as staff lyricist by the Ted Snyder Company in 1909, and in the period 1907-14, co-wrote 42 songs with Snyder, but he wrote this one by himself the year after his massive hit with "Alexander's Ragtime Band."

    Whether or not Berlin ever visited Alabama, he grew up in New York, lived there and died there - in 1989 at the age of 101. Trains don't go to Alabama - it is a state not a city. Nevertheless, this has become something of a jazz standard, although more discerning listeners may prefer to wait for the choo choo to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
  • In the United States, the song is in the public domain. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.