> Good question...

> I have enjoyed hearing that song many times
> and never really put the words to some sort
> of context wherein the lyrcist was
> addressing someone of an ethnic origin that
> had been, or was being, oppressed, or
> belittled.

> For me, I never ever considered that calling
> someone "boy" was a racial slur. I
> happen to be white (and kind'a pasty at
> that), and I remember being called
> "boy" by the adults in my
> neighborhood when I was a kid.
> "Boy" being a pronoun that
> describes a male child as opposed to being a
> girl or an adult of either sex. (I always
> thought that girls had cooties and being
> called "boy" was a compliment!)

> I remember seeing a "Shoeshine
> Boy" at the Indianapolis Union Station
> and he was as pasty as I am, and he was
> called "boy" to his face, and he
> seemed to appreciate the words (and the
> tips).

> BUT... I suspose that if the words to the
> song were; "Pardon me Honky, is this
> the..." I might be a bit uncomfortable,
> even if the person singing it were just
> singing the "historic" words to
> some great music.

> It might help to resolve the question if the
> context that the listener is perceiving were
> taken into consideration...

> Why are the "patrons" at the
> tourist spot (railroad) listening to someone
> sing that song???

> If the patrons are there to perceive the
> "historic" context, then the song
> should be sung as written AND put in that
> historic context.

> If the patrons are there for
> relaxation/family entertainment, then the
> song "might" disturb those that
> are sensitive to the words.

> That is what I perceive the question to be
> about and most of the replies here have
> totally sidestepped it or blown it off as
> unworthy of consideration... which is a bad
> thing for a public museum to do. Just
> because you see nothing wrong with it
> doesn't mean that someone won't be insulted
> by it. And this IS one of the things, in
> today's society, that should be at least
> considered thoughtfully.

> But then, how many black persons, today that
> is, are sensitive to someone singing an old
> song that contains the word "boy"?

> How many (of any racial/ethnic orgin) would
> recognize the meaning of that word in the
> context of the song? (I had never thought of
> it until the question was raised here.)

> For that matter, how many (of any
> racial/ethnic origin) would actually be
> listening to the words in the first place?

> --

> From MY viewpoint... I would very much
> prefer that there not be any music at all...

> Why???

> Because I would rather hear the steam
> locomotive and the whistle and some
> bellering singer strumming a gheetaaar is
> quite unwelcome in that context.

> (Like the PBS program about the U.P.
> Challenger... every time the engine got to
> working good, the singer began bellowing
> about it going home and TOTALLY RUINED
> "my" enjoyment of the program.)

> Semper Vaporo,
> Charles T. McCullough
> CMBY RY

As an African American, a third generation railroader, and the grandson of a Pullman Porter,I have heard and seen instances of grown black men being called "boy". My grandfather related instances in which he was called that by patrons on his car,or being referred to as "George". I have even been referred to as a "fireboy" while working on a steam locomotive.

For me,taking this persons' head off was the first thought.....but my engineer,who was much older and wiser than me,told me"any person who can fire this thing,keep it hot,and do it day after day, and eventually run it is all man...make no mistake.you are a MAN!"
His comments made me feel better,but these are the things we as African Americans still have to deal with,usually in not so obviuos ways.

I like the song,but I have never been comfortable with that particular lyric. If you do play the song,change the wording.it can still bring back memories of when a grown man was not given the respect garnered after years of service and experience. Sorry for being so lengthly,but I wanted to explain how it might make some people feel,and how it might affect them.

kbcotton@flash.net

Kenneth,

I have heard the term "fireboy" many times since I have been at steam machinery, and in fact have been called it many times myself, and I'm whiter than pale bleached flour. Not knowing who said it, or the context, fireboy seems to not be necessarily racial, but I have found it to be more common around old Missouri Pacific guys & sawmill types.

I live about three hours north of you and and well aware of the legacy we have in the south. The "n'word was verboten in our home, and I inherited my dad's habit of casually referring to any male (usually whose names I am trying to desperately remember) as "Hoss", which is a pretty common thing up here, whether white, black, green yellow or chartreuse. Well, I was informed via a Dallas News article last week that "Hoss" was a derogotory racial term, along with "cap'n", which is what I have called many a conductor I have worked with ( and been called myself).

I reckon what I am trying to convey is that among railroad men of an older tradition, terms like fireboy and cap'n have more to do with the occupations's nickname than race. I have been referred to as hoghead and hogger alot, but it never occured to me that it was a reference to my being being six foot four and about 300 pounds!

> don'tmakemedoit, don'tmakemedoit...........

> Too late. >:-]

> I tell the story of the time Roy Rogers was
> attacked by a rabid cat who set to clawing
> and gnawing his fresh pair of rattlesnake
> boots. As Roy grabbed the yowling feline by
> the tail and held it aloft, Dale Evans came
> riding up, looked the situation over, and
> asked.........

> "Pardon me, Roy--is that the cat that
> chewed your new shoes?"

I'm, sorry Sandy, you made me do it! Click on below for a RealAudio "music" file.

(Hey, I lived it. This was playing on the local radio station when I got my pink slip from the Foundation referenced)

Steve



Chapter 11 Choo Choo
SZuidervee@aol.com

> don'tmakemedoit, don'tmakemedoit...........

> Too late. >:-]

> I tell the story of the time Roy Rogers was
> attacked by a rabid cat who set to clawing
> and gnawing his fresh pair of rattlesnake
> boots. As Roy grabbed the yowling feline by
> the tail and held it aloft, Dale Evans came
> riding up, looked the situation over, and
> asked.........

> "Pardon me, Roy--is that the cat that
> chewed your new shoes?"

My 7th grade Math teacher told us that one. After a rather drawn-out lead to the punch-line, he delivers it. Silence. Dead silence in the room. It seems that 7th graders in the mid-70s had no knowledge of the song in question. He was devastated.