Hobo Lore, pt. 2

I don't know if there's any kind of a Hobo Code or anything, but I'm guessing there is. The primary law is probably something like "A hobo always looks out for other hoboes." If there's one thing hoboes love, it's other hoboes.

Case in point: when a hobo stops at a railyard or switching station, he can be sure his brother hoboes have left notification of what conditions exist there via the elaborate Hobo Symbol Lexicon. You can check it out here, here, and here.

If you're trampin though, the hope is that you'll come upon a brother who'll just tell you this stuff in person and maybe offer you some chow. No doubt your campfire chat will employ plentiful hobo slang. Yes, hoboes too have their own dialects and colloquialisms. Examples - -

Beefer - One who whines. Also an informer.
Biscuit shooter - Camp waiter or hash slinger. Also a flunkey.
Bitch - An improvised candle
Candle eaters - Term used for the Russians.
Flannel mouth - An Irishman. Sometimes called a chaw.
Honey dipping - Working as a shovel stiff in a sewer
Hooker - A drink of strong liquor.
Hoop chisler - A peddler of worthless rings and watches.
Mush rigger - An umbrella mender.
Pig iron dump - A hardware store.
Ready-mades - Store-bought cigarettes.
Wangy - Disguised begging by selling shoestrings.
Wind pudding - Air (having nothing to eat is living on wind pudding).
Speed balls - Wine or sherry wine.
Tiger milk - Some sort of liquor.

Lots more examples here, here, here, and here.

My goal is to bring some of this terminology into regular everyday use. You know, like this - -

"Honey, we really should have the Murphys over for some speed balls. Of course, they are flannel mouths, so they'll probably want a hooker of tiger milk. "

Or, "I'm trying to flag down the biscuit shooter so he can light our bitch."

Or, "Don't be a beefer, I'll get you a fresh pack of ready-mades at the next stop."

Any other suggestions?

Finally today, another hobo song. Gillian Welch & David Rawling's cover of 60's folk-singer, Eric Andersen's "Dusty Box Car Wall." This track is a b-side from the CD single of Welch's "Pass You By."

You can download it here.

Lyrics:

(Chorus)
I'm going away my baby,
I'm going to leave you honey pie.
That train passed by and you lay sleeping.
I'm going to write you a letter on a dusty box car wall.

Now the only two things that a gambler needs is a suitcase and a trunk.
And the only time that he's satisfied is when he's on the drunk.

(Chorus)

I once loved a boy in Cincinatti,
I loved a boy in sunny Tennessee.
Now a city boy will fill your heart with sadness,
But a country boy's as good as he can be.

(Chorus)

COMING SOON in the FINAL hobo post: Nate picks a hobo name! Hobo movies! Another hobo song!

Hobo Lore, pt. 1

Have you ever thought about hoboes? The campfires, the box cars, the pork 'n' beans, the railyards, the stubble, and the dirty, soot-covered coats with patches on the elbows?

Different and somehow cooler, more romantic, and more folk hero-esque than mere bums, they are the human embodiment of the word "freewheelin." Hoboes are uniquely American. There's no such thing as a Japanese hobo.

Hoboes evoke the Great Depression, in part because of The Grapes of Wrath, but also just because the economic state of the nation in the 30s made for what was surely The Golden Age of Hoboes. This being said, you should know that there are still hoboes today. They're still out there freighthoppin, slinking around in the shadows of railyards like some kind of mystical, old timey American leprechaun. I live near a big railyard, but sadly I have yet to see one. I will one day.

There is a thriving and sizeable folklore, mystique, and subculture surrounding hoboes today. Over the course of the next few posts, we will examine it.

Let's start with this: "700 Hobo Names" by John Hodgman. Though my general fascination with hobos has been around for many years (probably dating back to what might have been my first, most adorable, and maybe most brilliant, grade school Halloween costume), today's post was inspired by the work of genius that is "700 Hobo Names." It is what it says . . . 700 hobo names. Read aloud with spare guitar accompaniment. You could call it a spoken word poem, but it's far, far funnier and far, far less pretentious than that. It's almost an hour long. Some samples - -

#35 Horace "the Bird-headed Fool"
#47 Dr. Bill Stainchin, "The Boxcar Medic"
#53 J.R. Lintstockings
#55 Iron Trousers The Strong
#63 Lil Jonny Songbird, "The Songbird Eater"
#90 Chicken Nugget Will
#165 Commodore 64
#190 Crane T. Eyebrowsmeller
#200 Gravy-belly Dunston
#321 Half-albino Alejandro
#322 Gluttonous Slim
#379 St. Sorryass
#388 Huge Crybaby McWeepy
#389 Poo-knickers Elias
#466 Damian Pitchfork, "The Freightyard Satan"
#472 Ashen Merle Buzzard
#487 Transistor-ized Maximillian, "The Hobo Cyborg"
#547 Myron Biscuitsbeard, "The Dumpster Archaeologist"
#656 Wise Solomon Baby-splitter
#688 Mikey Gluesniff

I listened to the whole thing while driving over the course of a couple days. It is priceless. Someone has started a Flickr set of artist renderings of each hobo name. Check it out here.

Finally today, a hobo song - - Emmylou Harris' cover of the Woody Guthrie classic, "Hobo's Lullaby."
To download, go here, then right click/save as. If the download is slow, try again later.

I love Emmylou. Her voice, all forlorn and hypnotic, is among the most beautiful I have ever heard. Her album, Wrecking Ball, is astounding, but this song, "Hobo's Lullaby," is actually the first thing I ever heard from her. It can be found on Folkways: A Vision Shared (a Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly).

Here's the lyrics:

(chorus)
Go to sleep you weary hobo
Let the towns drift slowly by
Can't you hear the steel rails humming?
That's a hobo's lullaby

Do not think about tomorrow
Let tomorrow come and go
Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar
Safe from all the wind and snow

(chorus)

I know your coats are torn and tattered
And your hair is turning gray
But lift your head and smile at trouble
You'll find peace and rest someday

(chorus)

CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE HOBO LORE. In the next post: hobo slang, and another hobo song!