With all of that said, I am finally able to share the song by Hank Snow that I mentioned a long time ago, DUQUESNE PENNSYLVANIA. The song was on an album that was released in 1971 and titled Tracks & Trains. Hank Snow was noted for singing songs that had to do with railroads. This album was one of many that paid homage to trains and tracks.
I have a “romantic” theory about this particular song. As I researched Snow’s life, I was surprised to read that even though he was born in Canada, after becoming a US citizen, he served in the US Army. He was stationed at the same training base as my Uncle Mark Puskaric and during the same time frame. Since Uncle Mark was such a congenial guy, I have convinced myself that he befriended Hank Snow and told him stories about Duquesne Pennsylvania! This is further evidenced by the fact that Uncle Mark was stationed in Monterey California after his North Carolina stint. Once you read the lyrics, you’ll understand the connection. Again, this is pure conjecture on my part, and just a hunky fantasy!
So please, enjoy the following video that I created to honor our hometown, and let me know what you think!
Duquesne Pennsylvania
Ruby VanNoy – Danny Samson
© Tree Publishing, BMI
A train in the rain is my claim to fame
Since I broke the chain that shackled my brain
To that woman insane way back in Duquesne Pennsylvania
But my only regret is that I can’t forget all the outstandin’ debts
That she ain’t paid yet and that fuzzy brunette
Who always said don’t sweat the small stuff
So I ride in the rain on this big ole train
Like a man with no name and my language profane
Cause my only domain is this freight to Monterey California
With the rain on my face with the wind in the chase
It’s an open shut case I’m a happy disgrace
To the life I misplaced way back in Duquesne Pennsylvania
A woman untrue is a hard bite to chew
And the feelin’ was new but I knew what to do so I quickly withdrew
Cause a woman’s ado can detain ya
Yes a word of advice is enough to suffice
And I won’t say it twice and even though she seems nice
It’s a big sacrifice just one toss of the dice can restrain ya
So heed my request use the utmost finesse
On the girl statuesque enjoy her caress
But don’t be outguessed for she may distress and defame ya
Now you’ve heard my claim and there’s more of the same
It’s a heck of a shame but you can’t win the game
So we’ll ride in the rain on the train from Duquesne Pennsylvania
A train in the rain is my claim to fame
Since I broke the chain that shackled my brain
To that woman insane way back in Duquesne Pennsylvania
But my only regret is that I can’t forget all the outstanding debts
That she ain’t paid yet and that fuzzy brunette
Who always said don’t sweat the small stuff
So I ride in the rain on this big ole train
**********
HANK SNOW BIOGRAPHY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Snow
Biography
Hank Snow, (also known as Hank, The Yodeling Ranger
Hank Snow or, The Singing Ranger) was born in Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 9, 1914. He ran away from home to escape a brutal stepfather when he was 12 years old and joined a fishing boat as a cabin boy. When he was 14, he ordered his first guitar from an Eaton’s department store catalogue for $5.95, and played his first show in a church basement in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia at age 16. He then sang in local clubs in and around Halifax. He married Minnie Blanche Aalders in 1935 and had one son, Rev. Jimmy Rodgers Snow.
Canadian Years
A successful appearance on Halifax radio station CHNS led to Snow’s audition with the Canadian division of RCA Victor in Montreal, Quebec. In 1936, he signed with the label, staying for more than 45 years. A weekly CBC radio show brought him national recognition and, using the name, Hank, The Yodeling Ranger, and he began touring Canada until the late 1940s when American country music stations began playing his records.
Nashville Calls
Snow moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1945, and “Hank Snow, the Singing Ranger” (modified from his earlier nickname, the Yodeling Ranger), was invited to play at the Grand Ole Opry in 1950. That same year he released his hit, “I’m Moving On.” The first of seven number 1 hits on the country charts, “I’m Moving On” stayed at the top for 21 weeks, setting the all-time record for most weeks at number 1.
That same year ” “The Golden Rocket” and “The Rhumba Boogie” both hit number one with the latter remaining No. 1 for eight weeks.
Along with these hits, his other “signature song” was “I’ve Been Everywhere,” in which he portrayed himself as a hitchhiker bragging about all the towns he’d been through. This song was originally written and performed in Australia by Geoff Mack, and its re-write incorporated North American place names. Rattling off a well-rhymed series of city names at an auctioneer’s pace has long made the song a challenge for any singer.
While performing in Renfro Valley, Snow worked with a young Hank Williams.
In the February 7th 1953 edition, Billboard Magazine reported that Snow’s then seventeen year old son, Jimmy Rodgers Snow, had “signed with Victor” (RCA Victor Records). Billboard reported that the younger Snow would “record duets with his father”, as well as cover his own (presumably ghost-written) material.
Elvis
A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the directors to allow a young Elvis Presley to appear on stage. Snow used Presley as his opening act and introduced him to Colonel Tom Parker. In August 1955, Snow and Parker formed the management team, Hank Snow Attractions. This partnership signed a management contract with Presley but before long, Snow was out and Parker had full control over the rock singer’s career. Forty years after leaving Parker, Snow stated, “I have worked with several managers over the years and have had respect for them all except one. Tom Parker (he refuses to recognise the title Colonel) was the most egotistical, obnoxious human being I’ve ever had dealings with.”
Later career
Performing in lavish and colourful sequin-studded suits, Snow had a career covering six decades during which he sold more than 80 million albums. Although he became an American naturalized citizen in 1958, he still maintained friendships in Canada and remembered his roots with the 1968 album, My Nova Scotia Home. That same year he performed at campaign stops on behalf of U.S. presidential candidate George Wallace.
Despite his lack of schooling, Snow was a gifted songwriter and in 1978 was elected to Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Canada, he was ten times voted that country’s top country music performer. In 1979, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Music Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
His autobiography, The Hank Snow Story, was published in 1994, and later The Hank Snow Country Music Centre opened near his ancestral home in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. A victim of child abuse, he established the Hank Snow International Foundation For Prevention Of Child Abuse.
Illness and Death
In 1996, Snow experienced respiratory problems and at 12:30am on December 20, 1999, he died from heart failure[4] at his Rainbow Ranch in Madison, Tennessee and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville. Minnie died on May 12, 2003 in Madison, Tennessee.
States is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Sandy. I purposely drove over to the Boardwalk along the ocean and was suprised at the fact although the wind was VERY strong, around 30-35 mph, there wasn’t any rainfall yet. The waves were really crashing, but there was an eerie calm along the Boardwalk.
The Duquesne Hunky 