Rider On An Orphan Train (Album Track)(3:59)

Rider on an Orphan Train (3:59)

Contact: David Massengill
(212) 533-6297
davidwmassengill@gmail.com

Songwriter: David Massengill
Publishing & PRO: David Massengill Music/Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

Release Date: October 31, 1995

Produced By: Steve Addabbo

Musicians:
David Massengill: Mountain dulcimer
Howard Jones: Hammond Organ
Steve Addabbo: Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp
Michael Bisceglia: Bass

"A fellow from Missouri heard me singing My Name Joe on the radio and wrote me a letter out of the blue. Don McClanahan wondered if I was his long, lost brother. His original name was Massengill same as mine and he was separated from his brother at a young age when they'd been adopted by different families. My heart went out to him and I thought of my own younger brother Mike and how we enjoyed playing football in the back yard and all the adventures exploring the Tennessee knobs and creeks. I wondered what my life would have been like without him. I wrote Don back and wished him luck in finding his brother and we continued to write letters discussing all sorts of subjects but the separation from his brother was ever present in my mind.

I'd recently read about the orphan trains that ran from east to west across the US from 1855-1929. They carried mostly abandoned children from the big cities. A minister came up with the idea to send them out west and offer them up for adoption. They'd stop at various train platforms and farmers and families were there to pick and choose the children who best suited them. They tried to keep brothers and sisters together but it wasn't always possible. Sometimes the children were used for their labor and sometimes they were given entry into loving homes. One day I decided to tell Don's story as an orphan train child separated from his brother. Don never found his brother but I thought I'd give them a reunion in a dream near the end of the song. I was able to sing the song for Don at a show in Missouri and that was a special moment for me. In real life I am the older brother but I thought it best to write in the first person as the younger child and I used his brother's name James in the song. Don was pleased with that touch. Of all my songs this is my favorite." ~ David Massengill


"I woke up this morning with Orphan Train going through my head again. What a magnificent song! I can't imagine how it isn't being taught in every American History class in the country. Never think that you aren't leaving a legacy. You've written many wonderful songs, David, but this one will really leave a mark." ~ Tom Paxton