“Little Black Train” is a traditional gospel song built on a stark and simple image: the black train as death itself, coming down the line for every soul, and a warning to set one’s life in order before it arrives.
The song’s roots run back into nineteenth-century gospel hymnody. It reached records in 1926, most notably in a version by the Reverend J.M. Gates, the Atlanta preacher whose recorded sermons and spirituals sold in great numbers; his “Death’s Black Train Is Coming” was a substantial hit. The Carter Family and other early country acts soon recorded their own versions, carrying the song into the hillbilly repertoire.
The song’s grave warning and driving rhythm made it a natural for bluegrass gospel. The version heard here is by IIIrd Tyme Out, the harmony-focused bluegrass band, from their 1994 album “Grandpa’s Mandolin.”
