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"The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" is a ballad written and released by Jean Ritchie in 1965.
| "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Jean Ritchie | |
| Released | 1965 |
| Genre | Ballad |
Though Jean Ritchie typically eschewed controversial topics, the subject of impoverishing coal miners was touchy enough for the musician that she originally released "L&N"[1] in 1965 under her maternal grandfather's name, Than Hall. Ritchie grew up in Viper, Kentucky's Slabtown Holler, and a Louisville and Nashville Railroad passenger train ran right by the mouth of the hollow. Difficult times began when the local coal mines closed and the trains stopped coming; "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" reflects that time.[2] In 2008, Ritchie still owned the family farm in Viper and fought against mountaintop removal mining, a form of surface mining she called "a sin".[3]
Michelle Shocked and Kathy Mattea covered the song,[2] but it was made famous by Johnny Cash,[1] who published his own cover of the ballad after hearing June Carter Cash sing it.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Roland, Terry (August 6, 2013). "Unsung Heroes of Americana Music: Jean Ritchie & Susie Glaze-Two Folk Singers, One Voice". No Depression. ISSN 1088-4971. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Shepard, JC (October 19, 2014). "L&N; Don't Stop Here Anymore: Jean Ritchie and the Railroads of the Southern Appalachians". No Depression. ISSN 1088-4971. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Finn, Robin (November 7, 2008). "At This Hall, They're Singing Her Song". The New York Times. Port Washington, New York. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.