Born in Tioga, Texas, Autry was raised in Texas and Oklahoma. Discovered by humorist Will Rogers, in 1929 Autry was billed as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy" at KVOO in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He gained a popular following, a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1929, and soon after, performed on the "National Barn Dance" for radio station WLS in Chicago. Autry first appeared on screen in 1934 and up to 1953 popularized the musical Western and starred in 93 feature films. In 1940 theater exhibitors of America voted Autry the fourth biggest box office attraction, behind Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable, and Spencer Tracy.
While best known today as the singer of such holiday fare as Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane), Frosty The Snowman, Peter Cottontail, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the second all-time best selling Christmas single of all time, Autry made 640 recordings, including more than 300 songs written or co-written by him. His records are reputed to have sold more than 100 million copies. His recording of That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine is reputed to have sold more than 5 million copies. Autry's other significant recordings include:
* You Are My Sunshine (1931)
* A Face I See at Evening (1931)
* The Last Roundup (1933)
* Cowboy's Heaven (1934)
* South of the Border (1934)
* Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935)
* Mexicali Rose (1935)
* Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle (1935)
* Gold Mine in the Sky (1937)
* Back in the Saddle Again (1939)
* Blueberry Hill (1941)
* Be Honest With Me (1946)
* Ghost Riders in the Sky (1949)
* Nobody's Darlin' but Mine (1957)
From 1940 to 1956 Autry hosted the weekly Melody Ranch radio show over the CBS Radio Network, featuring Autry's trademark theme song Back In The Saddle Again. In addition, Autry's popularity was apparent during his personal appearance tours. Claimed to have been the first performer to sell out Madison Square Garden, his concert and rodeo appearances throughout the United States and Europe served as a model for other performers. Autry often did two shows a day, seven days a week, for 65 to 85 days at a stretch.
In 1950, Autry became one of the first major movie stars to turn to television. For the next five years he produced and starred in 91 half-hour episodes of The Gene Autry Show for CBS Television. This success lead him to produce such popular TV series as Annie Oakley, The Range Rider, Buffalo Bill Jr., The Adventures Of Champion as well as the first 39 episodes of Death Valley Days.
He carried his love for entertaining and sharp business sense into broadcasting, where, under the Golden West Broadcasters banner, he owned a chain of radio and television stations throughout the Western United States, including KMPC and KTLA in Los Angeles and KSFO in San Francisco until the late 1980's. His other business interests included the Gene Autry Hotel in Palm Springs, and several other properties. He ranked for many years on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans, before he fell in 1995 to the magazine's "near miss" category with an estimated net worth of $320 million.
Autry's broadcasting interests that led him in 1960 to acquire the then expansion Los Angeles Angels American League baseball franchise (later the California Angels). After his retirement from performing in the mid-1960's, much of Autry's time was spent unsuccessfully attempting to win a World Series' championship for his Angels. When he became the first country musician to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he said that there's "only one day that will be bigger than this one for me, and that's when we win the World Series." Autry was a fixture at Angels' games for the rest of his life.
Autry's long-cherished dream came true with the opening in November 1988 of the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, since acclaimed as one of the finest museums on the history and mythology of the West.
Among the many hundreds of honors and awards Autry has received were induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame; the American Academy of Achievement Award, the Los Angeles Area Governor's Emmy from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; and the Board of Directors Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Achievement in Arts Foundation. Autry was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, The National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and he received The Songwriters Guild Life Achievement Award. He was also honored by his songwriting peers with a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP.
Gene Autry died at his home in Studio City, California on October 2, 1998 at the age of 91.
Waiting for a Train
Gene Autry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A thousand miles away from home, sleeping in the rain
I walked up to a brakeman to give him a line of talk
He says: If you?ve got money, I?ll see that you don?t walk
I haven?t got a nickel, not a penny can I show
He said: Get off, you railroad bum and slammed the boxcar door
He put me off in Texas, a place I surely love
Wide open spaces ?round me, the moon and stars above
I?m on my way from Frisco, goin? back to Dixie Land
My pocket book is empty and my heart is filled with pain
I?m a 1000 miles away from home just waiting for a train
The lyrics to Gene Autry's song "Waiting for a Train" are about a hobo who finds himself stranded and homeless, waiting for a train to take him back home to Dixie Land. The hobo is sleeping in the rain, a thousand miles away from his home, and he is desperately looking for help. He asks a brakeman for assistance, but the brakeman tells him that only those with money can ride the train. The hobo doesn't have any money, so the brakeman kicks him off the train in Texas, leaving him stranded once again.
The hobo wanders around Texas, but he can't find anyone who will help him. He is alone, with no friends or family to turn to, and his pocketbook is empty. He longs for the wide-open spaces of Texas, with the moon and the stars above him, but he is filled with pain and loneliness. He reflects on his situation and realizes that he is a thousand miles away from home, waiting for a train to take him back to a place where he belongs.
Line by Line Meaning
All around the water tank, waiting for a train
I am standing near the water tank, waiting for a train
A thousand miles away from home, sleeping in the rain
I am very far from my home, and I have to sleep in the rain
I walked up to a brakeman to give him a line of talk
I approached a brakeman to talk to him
He says: If you?ve got money, I?ll see that you don?t walk
He told me that if I have money, he will help me not to walk
I haven?t got a nickel, not a penny can I show
I don't have any money, and I can't show even a penny
He said: Get off, you railroad bum and slammed the boxcar door
He asked me to leave, calling me a 'railroad bum', and shut the boxcar door forcefully
He put me off in Texas, a place I surely love
He dropped me off in Texas, a place that I really like
Wide open spaces ?round me, the moon and stars above
There are vast open spaces around me, with the moon and stars shining above
Nobody seems to want me or lend me a helping hand
No one appears to want me or be willing to help me
I?m on my way from Frisco, goin? back to Dixie Land
I am traveling from Frisco and returning to Dixie Land
My pocket book is empty and my heart is filled with pain
I have no money left, and my heart is heavy with sorrow
I?m a 1000 miles away from home just waiting for a train
I am a thousand miles away from home, just waiting for a train
Contributed by Eli L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Barragg
Good stuff.
John Jurkewicz
So, So, So, beautiful to listening to and I love it
Billy
If you like hear Gene Autry sing you will also like hear Frankie Marvin sing. Frankie worked with Gene in many years ( into 1955)
Billy
Walter Van Brunt was a hug Billy Murray fan and startet his recording career in 1909 as a Billy Murray imitator. Walter later worked with Billy as a duo and in the radio. They also been close friends. Very funny Billy Murray been a hug fan of Walter Van Brunt. He loved when Walter sang so many very beautiful songs
madbarr
Riley Crabtree did an incredible version of this song. Can't find it on YouTube though.
jerlan23
Enjoyed the photo of the hobo camp. It was in a camp such as this where my Dad climbed a tree and took some eggs from a magpie nest. He ate them to survive. He was one of the millions of men who rode the freight trains during the Great Depression, trying to find work.
Aileen
My biggest favorite singer of all times is Billy Murray,but I like Gene Autry too
Velma Peterson
MY, FAVORITE. COWBOY,,GENE. AUTRY,,,LOVE. HIM,
Ray Rogers
WOW!!!! Gene had Jimmie's voice mastered so well he could have stayed with it as far as I'm concerned but he went on into Movies and developed his own style and sound and I loved it "Gene Autry ( The Singing Cowboy)" And became my Cowboy Hero ahead of Roy Rogers ( Of course No one can ever take the place of Jimmie Rodgers) Now, All My Hero's are gone Including The One and Only" MAN in BLACK" Johnny Cash!!!! .....Ray Rogers !!!!!
Aileen
Johnny Cash sucks