Born in Kirksville, Missouri and nicknamed "Rusty" for his red hair, he began performing on his uncle's radio show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid 1930s. Draper moved on to work at radio stations in Des Moines, Iowa—sometimes filling in for sports announcer Ronald Reagan—and in Illinois before settling in California. There he began to sing in local clubs, becoming resident singer at the Rumpus Room in San Francisco. By the early 1950s he had begun appearing on national TV shows including The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) and Ozark Jubilee (ABC).
In 1952, Draper signed to Mercury Records and issued his debut single, "How Could You (Blue Eyes)". The following year, after a national club tour, his cover version of Jim Lowe's "Gambler's Guitar” made #6 on both the country and pop charts, and sold a million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1] After a series of less successful follow-ups, he made the national charts again in 1955 with "Seventeen" (#18), "The Shifting, Whispering Sands" (#3) and "Are You Satisfied?" (#11), becoming one of the biggest pop and country crossover stars of the period.
In 1956, he returned to the top 20 with "In The Middle Of The House" (#20), followed up by his version of Chas McDevitt’s UK skiffle hit "Freight Train" (#3) Draper also reached the UK Singles Chart with a rendition of "Muleskinner Blues."
In 1962, he left Mercury to sign with Monument Records, with diminishing chart success as his style became more old-fashioned. However, he continued to have minor hits in the country charts through the 1960s. He remained a steady concert draw in years to follow, and also appeared in stage musicals and on television. Draper died in Bellevue, Washington at the age of 80.
In the Middle of the House
Rusty Draper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The trains all come through the middle of the house
Since the company bought the land
They let us live in the front of the house
They let us live in the back
But there ain't no livin' in the middle of the house
When a bill collector comes to the house
He knocks and bangs on the door
So we sit him right down in the middle of the house
And he never comes back no more
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
It comes and goes through the middle of the house
And the trains are all on time
Here comes the five-o-nine
singin' this song in the middle of the house
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
In and out of the middle of the house
Right smack dab through the middle of the house
Where the parlor used to be
There's a great big door in the front of the house
There's a little old door in the back
But we can't have doors in the middle of the house
'Cause that's the railroad track
A relative came to visit the house
He liked to scream and fuss
So we sat him right down in the middle of the house
And he never more bothered us
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
It comes and goes through the middle of the house
Since the company bought the land.
Rusty Draper's song "In the Middle of the House" is a fun and humorous tune about the railroad that runs through the middle of a family's house. The lyrics highlight the absurdity of such a situation and showcase the ingenuity of the family in dealing with it.
The song starts with the repetition of the opening line, "The railroad comes through the middle of the house," which immediately sets the stage for the rest of the lyrics. The family is living in the front and back of the house, but the middle is occupied by the railroad track. The trains come and go through the middle of the house, and there is no room for anything else.
The lyrics use humor to describe the family's predicament. For example, when a bill collector comes to the house and won't leave, the family sits him down in the middle of the house, and he never comes back. Similarly, when a relative visits and is difficult to handle, they place him in the middle of the house, and he never bothers them again.
The final verse repeats the opening lines again and notes that the railroad has been coming through the middle of the house since the company bought the land. The song ends with a cheerful refrain about the trains running on time.
Overall, "In the Middle of the House" is a lighthearted song that pokes fun at a bizarre situation. It showcases how people can adapt to unusual circumstances and find humor in difficult situations.
Line by Line Meaning
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The railway runs through the center of the house, disrupting the usual layout of the home.
The trains all come through the middle of the house
Trains consistently pass through the central part of the house due to the railroad track.
Since the company bought the land
The company that owns the railway track bought the land the house is on, causing the railway to run through the middle of the house.
They let us live in the front of the house
The company permitted the family to inhabit the front of the house, away from the railroad track.
They let us live in the back
The company allowed the family to reside in the rear of the house, far from the railway track.
But there ain't no livin' in the middle of the house
The portion of the house where the railroad track runs through is intolerable to live in.
'Cause that's the railroad track
The reason why the middle part of the house is unlivable is due to the existence of the railway track.
When a bill collector comes to the house
When someone comes to collect unpaid bills from the family's household,
He knocks and bangs on the door
The collector alerts the family to their presence by knocking and banging on the entrance.
So we sit him right down in the middle of the house
The family places the bill collector in the central part of the house where the train passes by.
And he never comes back no more
The bill collector does not return to collect any more payments.
It comes and goes through the middle of the house
The train both enters and exits through the central portion of the house.
Here comes the five-o-nine
The song references the arrival of the five-o-nine, a train that passes through the middle of the house.
singin' this song in the middle of the house
The songwriter describes the noise of the train's sound as if the train is singing in the central part of the residence.
In and out of the middle of the house
The train enters and exits the central part of the house.
Right smack dab through the middle of the house
The railroad track cuts right through the middle of the house, dividing it into two parts.
Where the parlor used to be
The central portion of the house is where the parlor or living room would typically reside if the train track wasn't there.
There's a great big door in the front of the house
The entrance to the home from the front is significant in size.
There's a little old door in the back
The entrance to the house from the back is smaller and older than the front door.
'Cause that's the railroad track
Due to the presence of the railway track, doors cannot exist in the central part of the house.
A relative came to visit the house
A family member paid a temporary visit to the household.
He liked to scream and fuss
The relative had a habit of expressing their frustration and anger loudly.
So we sat him right down in the middle of the house
To prevent the relative from disrupting the family's peace, they were placed in the central part of the house where the train made a lot of noise.
And he never more bothered us
After being placed in the central part of the house with the noise of the passing train, the relative no longer caused any trouble for the family.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOB HILLIARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Valentyn Koscheyev
". . . Middle Of The House"
---- By Rusty Draper - Country 1956
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
The trains all come through
The middle of the house
Since the company bought the land
They let us live
In the front of the house
They let us live in the back
But there ain't no living
In the middle of the house
Cause that's the railroad track
When a bill collector
Comes to the house
He knocks and bangs on the door
So we sat him right down
In the middle of the house
And he never comes back no more
No, he never comes back no more
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
It comes and goes through
The middle of the house
And the trains are all on time
And here comes the 509
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
In and out of the middle of the house
Right smack dab through
The middle of the house
Where the parlor used to be
There's a great big door
In the front of the house
There's a little old door in the back
But we can't have doors
In the middle of the house
Cause that's the railroad track
A relative came to visit the house
He liked to scream and fuss
So we sat him right down
In the middle of the house
And he never more bothered us
No, he never more bothered us
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
The railroad comes through
The middle of the house
It comes and goes through
The middle of the house
Since the company bought the land
I'm singing this song in
The middle of the house
missvalerie93
My grandma sang this to me as a kid.. What a funny/ sweet memory flashback. Thank you for posting this ❤
Kim Buckles
my father worked on the railroad, and would sing this to me and my brother often at bedtime ...wonderful memories!
luminair11
Love this old song.....just found it here after it playing itself through my mind......and then sang it to my adult daughter.....at least as much as I could remember!
Julie Willcox
Loved this song when l was young ,to me, l find it a very happy song(from the good old days).Thank you.
Karen Wells
remember listening this as a kid love it :)
Jim Freeman
What a memory from my childhood .Love it.
Jim Freeman
I'm 57 years old. Had this song in my mind a few days ago and am delighted to find it on this site. It amuses me fifty years after it was a hit.
Jim Freeman
I was six years old when this was a hit. I was very humored by the concept of a train running through the middle of a house. Being raised in New York City and loving the subway (train). You might understand my love of this song.
A random kid named Noah
is it just me or do i like vintage music unlike other kids? idk what it is but older music makes me happy for some reason, especially this song. i can't get it out of my head!!
gary scott
i love this song ,havent heard it in years