Cat. #0763 (MFH #651) - As sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on May 26, 1969
VERSE 1
Was that brave an' Trudy Brakeman
As he stepped beneath th car
Not a moment warning, had 'im
Of a freight train he had heard
VERSE 2
Was that brave an' Trudy Brakeman
At th age of twenty-one
As he stepped out from his engine
Cry'n, Lord, what have I done
VERSE 3
Have I killed, my Trudy Brakeman
Could it be that he is dying
O, I did my best t' save him
But I could not stop in time
VERSE 4
As he lie there on his pillow
With an awful mourn, he dread
With his siswter, bending o'er him
Crying, brother are you dead
VERSE 5
Yes, I'm dying, sister, dying
Go'in to join th better shore
There's my Father, and my Mother
That I'll never see no more
VERSE 6
Sister, when you see my brother
Tell 'im, these few words I send
Tell 'im t' never be a brakeman
If he does his life will end
VERSE 7
And when these few words was spoken
Crossed his hands upon his breast
An' his spirit then had left him
An' his soul was deep in rest