The Sinking of the Reuben James Lyrics

The song The Sinking of the Reuben James is performed by Woody Guthrie in the album named The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4 in the year 1999 .



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
That was 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 - The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4

Aug 1999

  1. This Land is Your Land
  2. Car Song
  3. Rambling Round
  4. Talking Fishing Blues
  5. Philadelphia Lawyer
  6. Lindbergh
  7. Hobo's Lullaby
  8. Pastures of Plenty
  9. Grand Coulee Dam
  10. End of the Line
  11. New York Town
  12. Gypsy Davy
  13. Jesus Christ
  14. Do-Re-Mi
  15. Jarama Valley
  16. The Biggest Thing Man's Ever Done
  17. Picture from Life's Other Side
  18. Jesse James
  19. Talking Hard Work
  20. When That Great Ship Went Down
  21. Hard Ain't it Hard
  22. Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
  23. I Ain't Got Nobody
  24. The Sinking of the Reuben James
  25. Why, Oh Why?
  26. This Land is Your Land (reprise)
  27. Muleskinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8)
  28. The Wreck of the Old 97
  29. Sally Goodin'
  30. Little Black Train
  31. Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet
  32. Baltimore to Washington
  33. Rubber Dolly
  34. 21 Years
  35. Sowing on the Mountain
  36. Bed on the Floor
  37. Take a Whiff on Me
  38. Stepstone
  39. Put My Little Shoes Away
  40. Hen Cackle
  41. Poor Boy
  42. Stackolee (Stagger Lee)
  43. Johnny Hart (John Hardy)
  44. Worried Man Blues
  45. Danville Girl
  46. Gambling Man
  47. Rye Straw
  48. Crawdad Song
  49. Ida Red
  50. Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy
  51. Train 45
  52. Hard Travelin'
  53. Farmer-Labor Train
  54. Howdjado
  55. Ship in the Sky
  56. I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore
  57. Mean Talking Blues
  58. Better World A-Coming
  59. Miss Pavlichencko
  60. So Long It's Been Good to Know You (War Version)
  61. New Found Land
  62. Oregon Trail
  63. Vigilante Man
  64. 1913 Massacre
  65. Talking Columbia
  66. Two Good Men
  67. Sally Don't You Grieve
  68. Talking Sailor (Talking Merchant Marine)
  69. What are We Waiting On?
  70. Railroad Blues
  71. Ludlow Massacre
  72. Ladies Auxilary
  73. Miner's Song
  74. When the Yanks Go Marching In?
  75. Union Maid (excerpt)
  76. The Rubaiyat (excerpt)
  77. The Many and the Few
  78. Hanukkah Dance
  79. Ranger's Command
  80. Buffalo Skinners
  81. Billy the Kid
  82. Cowboy Waltz
  83. Pretty Boy Floyd
  84. Along in the Sun and the Rain
  85. Whoopie Ti-Yi-Yo, Get Along Little Dogies
  86. Froggie Went A-Courtin'
  87. Buffalo Gals
  88. I Ride an Old Paint
  89. Dead or Alive (Poor Lazurus)
  90. Slip Knot
  91. Cocaine Blues (Bad Lee Brown)
  92. Go Tell Aunt Rhody
  93. Chisholm Trail
  94. Stewball
  95. Wild Cyclone
  96. Train Blues
  97. Red River Valley
  98. Fastest of Ponies
  99. Stewball
  100. Snow Deer
  101. When the Curfew Blues
  102. Little Darling (At My Window Sad and Lonely)
  103. Blowing Down That Old Dusty Road
  104. The Return of Rocky Mountain Slim and Desert Rat Shorty

The Sinking of the Reuben James