chattanooga choo choo

Glenn Miller and his orchestra had a runaway hit with this swingin' paean to a coal burning locomotive. 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' was written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon while riding the Southern Railway's Birmingham Special; Warren did the music and Gordon the lyrics. Glenn Miller recorded the song for the film 'Sun Valley Serenade', starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Milton Berle, and Joan Davis. In the film, it was part of a big production number with vocals by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and the Modernaires; including a bit with Dorothy Dandridge and The Nicholas Brothers. Miller's 78-rpm single version spent nine weeks on top of the Billboard Best Sellers chart.

Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

Track twenty nine, boy you can gimme a shine

I can afford to board a Chattanooga Choo Choo

I've got my fare and just a trifle to spare

You leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four

Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore

Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer

Than to have your ham 'n' eggs in Carolina

When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar

Then you know that Tennessee is not very far

Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin'

Woo, woo, Chattanooga, there you are

There's gonna be a certain party at the station

Satin and lace, I used to call funny face

She's gonna cry until I tell her that I'll never roam