Reuben James Lyrics

Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James
Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and fame?
She flew the Stars and Stripes of the land of the free
But tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea.

Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names,
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
What were their names, tell me, what were their names?
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James

Well, a hundred men went down in that dark watery grave
When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved.
'Twas the last day of October we saved the forty-four
From the cold ocean waters and the cold icy shore.

It was there in the dark of that uncertain night
That we watched for the U-boats and waited for a fight.
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion roared
And they laid the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor.

Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright
In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight.
And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main
And remember the name of that good Reuben James.

Woody Guthrie - Woody Guthrie's American Song (1994 PopeTheater Cast)

May 1996

1. Hard Travelin'
2. So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh)
3. Oklahoma Hills
4. Dust Storm Disaster
5. I Ain't Got No Home/ So Long
6. Bound for Glory
7. Do-Re-Mi
8. Worried Man, Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way
9. End of My Line
10. Grand Coulee Dam
11. Pastures of Plenty
12. I Ain't Got No Home
13. Act II Introduction
14. Hard, Ain't It Hard
15. I Don't Feel at Home on the Bowery
16. Talkin' Subway
17. Union Maid
18. Reuben James
19. Nine Hundred Miles
20. Deportee
21. Better World a Comin'/ Lonesome Valley
22. This Land Is Your Land