Haley was born William John Clifton Haley (some sources append "Junior" to … Read Full Bio ↴Haley was born William John Clifton Haley (some sources append "Junior" to his name, but his eldest son states that this is erroneous) in Highland Park, Michigan and raised in Pennsylvania. Many sources (almost universally predating his death in 1981) state that Haley was born in 1927, which is due to Haley knocking two years off his age for publicity purposes in the 1950s. A few recent sources erroneously give a birth year of 1924.

Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation. According to biographer John Swenson, Haley later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. The spit-curl caught on as a 50's style signature, although Haley and others had worn the hairstyle much earlier.

In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a Pennsylvania-based western swing band called The Down Homers run by Kenny Roberts. It has often been reported in musical reference works that Haley's first professional recordings were made with the Down Homers on a pair of singles released in 1946 by Vogue Records. This was later debunked by Roberts and others, stating Haley had already left the group by the time the singles were made. In the early 2000s, however, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered and Haley is definitely present as he is identified by name and sings a solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel"; these recordings were commercially released for the first time in 2006.

After gaining experience with the Down Homers, Haley set out on his own, forming several groups such as the Range Drifters and the Four Aces of Western Swing. With the Four Aces, he made a number of regionally successful country music singles in the late 1940s for Cowboy Records while working as a touring musician and later a radio DJ at WPWA. (Many of Haley's early recordings from this period would not be released until after his death.) After disbanding the Four Aces and briefly trying a solo career using the names Jack Haley and Johnny Clifton (as chronicled in the biography Sound and Glory), Haley formed a new group called The Saddlemen in either 1949 or 1950 (sources vary as to the exact year); this new group recorded for several labels, including one single for Atlantic Records, Haley's first exposure to a major national record company. In 1951, Haley was signed to Dave Miller's Philadelphia-based Holiday Records and began to change musical styles, recording cover versions of "Rocket "88"" (previously recorded by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats), and in, 1952, "Rock the Joint", previously recorded by several bands including Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians. (By the time of "Rock the Joint", Haley had graduated from Holiday Records to Miller's larger Essex label.) The relative success of these recordings (both sold in the 75,000-100,000 copy range in the Pennsylvania-New England region) convinced Haley that his new and as-yet officially unnamed hybrid of country and rhythm and blues could be a commercial success.and some of his family lives in oklahoma and there is a road named after his family.

Choo Choo Boogie
Bill Haley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Take me right back to the track, Jack

Headin' for the station with a pack on my back
Tired of transportation in the back of a hack
I love to hear the rhythm of the clickety-clack
And sear the lonesome whistle, see the smoke from the stack
Pal around with Democratic fellows named Mac
So tTake me right back to the track, Jack

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Take me right back to the track, Jack

You wake up in the morning feelin' sharp as a tack
You open up a sack and then you gobble a snack
You smoke a cigarette you didn't get in the pack
While takin' off your shoes so you can empty the slack
There's nothing you can do about the dough that you lack
But beat it right back to the track, Jack

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Take me right back to the track, Jack

You reach your destination but alas in a lack
You need some compensation to get back in the black
You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
And read the situation from the front to the back
The only job that's open needs a man with a knack
So put it right back in the rack, Jack

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Take me right back to the track, Jack

I'm gonna settle down by the railroad track
And live the life of Riley in the beaten-down shack
So when I hear the whistle I can peep through the crack
And watch the train a-rollin' when it's ballin' the jack
I just love the rhythm of the clickety-clack
Take me right back to the track, Jack

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
Take me right back to the track, Jack

Overall Meaning

The song "Choo Choo Ch'boogie" by Bill Haley is a catchy tune that follows the story of a man who is tired of his everyday life and wants to escape it by boarding a train. The lyrics describe his desire to return to the rhythm of the tracks, the company of his friends, and the thrill of the train whistle. The song describes different everyday activities such as eating a snack or smoking a cigarette, emphasizing the monotony that comes with them. The singer wants to escape this routine and go back to the excitement of railway tracks which he sees as a free and adventurous way of life. The song's story is one of the romanticism of travel and the allure of adventure that it evokes.

The chorus of the song refers to the sound made by a train. The "choo choo ch'boogie" sound is the rhythm of the wheels on the tracks, and the "woo woo" represents the sound of the train whistle. These lyrics bring out the singer's romanticized connection to the sounds and rhythm of trains which he enjoys so much. The song ends with the indication that the singer has decided to settle down by a railroad track and live his days watching trains roll by while enjoying the clickety-clack rhythm of the train tracks.

Line by Line Meaning

Take me right back to the track, Jack
I want to go back to traveling on the rails

Headin' for the station with a pack on my back
I'm walking to the train station with my backpack

Tired of transportation in the back of a hack
I'm tired of being driven around in a taxi

I love to hear the rhythm of the clickety-clack
I love the sound of the train wheels on the tracks

And sear the lonesome whistle, see the smoke from the stack
I enjoy hearing and watching the train as it moves along the tracks

Pal around with Democratic fellows named Mac
I hang out with guys named Mac who are politically aligned with the Democratic party

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
This is a catchy refrain that represents the rhythm of the train wheels

Woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie
Another catchy refrain that represents the sound of the train whistle

You wake up in the morning feelin' sharp as a tack
I wake up feeling alert and ready to go

You open up a sack and then you gobble a snack
I quickly eat a snack before starting my day

You smoke a cigarette you didn't get in the pack
I smoke a cigarette that I didn't buy in my pack

There's nothing you can do about the dough that you lack
I don't have any money to spend

But beat it right back to the track, Jack
I'll go back to traveling on trains even though I don't have money

You reach your destination but alas in a lack
I arrive at my destination but I'm still broke

You need some compensation to get back in the black
I need some money to get out of debt

You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
I grab the top newspaper to read the news

And read the situation from the front to the back
I read the newspaper from front to back to learn about the current situation

The only job that's open needs a man with a knack
The only available job requires specific skills that I don't have

So put it right back in the rack, Jack
I'll put the newspaper back on the rack and continue traveling

I'm gonna settle down by the railroad track
I'm going to live near the train tracks

And live the life of Riley in the beaten-down shack
I'll live comfortably in my humble abode

So when I hear the whistle I can peep through the crack
I can watch the train through a crack in my home when it passes by

And watch the train a-rollin' when it's ballin' the jack
I enjoy watching the train as it quickly moves along the tracks

Take me right back to the track, Jack
I want to go back to traveling on the train

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
This refrain references the sound of the train wheels

Woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie
This refrain references the sound of the train whistle

Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie
This refrain references the sound of the train wheels

Take me right back to the track, Jack
I want to go back to traveling on the train

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Denver Darling, Milton Gabler, Vaughn Horton

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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