“The Midnight Train” was written by Alton Delmore, who with his brother Rabon formed the Delmore Brothers, born in Elkmont, Alabama. The brothers recorded it in January 1946 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood for King, in a session with Merle Travis and Louis Innis on guitars and Roy Starkey on bass; it was issued on King 548 in the autumn of 1946, with “Don’t Forget Me” on the other side.
The song is a leave-taking. The singer has been all over his old home town and cannot find any trace of his sweetheart, so there is nothing left to do but go. She had promised to wait, and to be true until the fighting was over, but she has proved untrue, and the love between them is finished. In the last verse he watches the train pull out in the rain with the stars overhead, carrying the mail, and says it will take him away from that love.
Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys recorded it in 1980 at Sound Stage Studio in Nashville for The Jim & Jesse Story (CMH), with Jesse McReynolds singing lead and Jim McReynolds on harmony. They had also included a version on the CMH compilation 50 Years of Bluegrass Hits.
