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Charlie on the MTA

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rf...@aol.com

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Apr 11, 2003, 11:57:28 PM4/11/03
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Ever wondered whatever happened to Poor Ol' Charlie on the MTA? Why he
rode forever 'neath the streets of Boston? A sequel to the song made
famous by the Kingston Trio has been recorded by Bob Haworth, a current
Trio member, on his soon to be released solo CD "After All These Years".
You can hear "MTA Revisited" on my website at the following link:

www.folkusa.org/mta.html

Stop by and give a listen. All are welcome. My site is not a commercial
site. I posted this page as a favor to Bob. I hope this doesn't violate
any charter provisions for this group.

Rick Daly
Folk U.S.A.

katriana

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Apr 12, 2003, 8:54:49 PM4/12/03
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Cute song. This link has nothing to do with a sequel, but it has an
explanation way down at the bottom that Charlie would have qualified
for the Senior rate around 1983 and could have gotten off :-)

http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/jdreed/t/charlie.html

j...@removethispart.gs.washington.edu

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Apr 14, 2003, 1:28:02 PM4/14/03
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In article <tz2ma.119923$S14.1...@news1.central.cox.net>,

katriana <calo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Cute song. This link has nothing to do with a sequel, but it has an
>explanation way down at the bottom that Charlie would have qualified
>for the Senior rate around 1983 and could have gotten off :-)

I always wondered why, when "through the open window she [Charlie's wife]
gave Charlie a sandwich", she didn't just give him a nickel.

--
Joe Felsenstein j...@removethispart.gs.washington.edu
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington,
Box 357730, Seattle, WA 98195-7730 USA

Joe Fineman

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Apr 14, 2003, 6:47:36 PM4/14/03
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j...@removethispart.gs.washington.edu writes:

> I always wondered why, when "through the open window she [Charlie's
> wife] gave Charlie a sandwich", she didn't just give him a nickel.

Speculation on that has gone on for a long time.
--
--- Joe Fineman j...@TheWorld.com

||: Who is a hero? He who has conquered himself. :||

Harold Groot

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Apr 14, 2003, 10:07:43 PM4/14/03
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On 14 Apr 2003 18:47:36 -0400, Joe Fineman <j...@TheWorld.com> wrote:

>j...@removethispart.gs.washington.edu writes:
>> I always wondered why, when "through the open window she [Charlie's
>> wife] gave Charlie a sandwich", she didn't just give him a nickel.

>Speculation on that has gone on for a long time.

They probably hated each other. She didn't want him back, so she
didn't give him a nickel. Similarly, the sandwiches she made for him
were so bad he couldn't SELL them, not even for just a nickel. And
with such treatment, he was glad of an excuse not to have to go back
to her. And so on and so on.

Rilla Heslin

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Apr 17, 2003, 8:28:11 PM4/17/03
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Harold, I don't know where you heard that explanation, but it has to be
about one of the most thoughtless explanations I've ever heard.
Obviously, who ever came up with that answer never read the words to the
song or was just out of a bad relationship and was putting their
feelings of rejections onto the song story, or depressed for some other
reason.

The words say, that Charlie put his money in his pocket and _kissed_ his
wife and family when he left. If you *hate* someone you generally do
_not_ kiss them. Once my first marriage fell apart, though we still
live together, we Never kissed each other, nor did he kiss his children.

Also, if Charlie's wife hated him so very much, why'd she even bother to
fix him a sandwich? Why did she go looking for Charlie at all? If she
hated him, she simply would have said, "Good-bye and good riddance to
bad rubbish" and left it at that. But that wasn't what happened
according to the song. She went down to the station (which indicates
that she first had to *look* for Charlie in order to know that he was
stuck on the M.T.A..) and she fixed him a sandwich so that he could at
least eat and not starve.

Now this is just a protest song, and has nothing to do with reality.
But if I had to guess why Charlie wouldn't get off of that train, *was*
because he was protesting that rate increase.

Rilla

Docnmgrst

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Apr 27, 2003, 7:13:57 PM4/27/03
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Dear Katriana: I'm a guitar teacher & have been teaching students "The Wreck of
the Old '97" for years, always telling them that it was once recorded by the
Kingston Trio. (I never knew about the link w/McCarthyis.) Gee, one can learn a
lot just reading this Newsgroup!

Cheers, Daniel

Ray E

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Apr 27, 2003, 9:32:39 PM4/27/03
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Besides "Charlie on the MTA" and the "Wreck of the Old 97", I learned this
song as "The ship that never returned" (which I think was the original but
that is just a guess). Seems to be a popular tune.

--
Ray from Rochester, NY
Trombone, Keyboard, Guitar, Mandolin,
and Bass, Player wanna be.
"Docnmgrst" <docn...@aol.com> wrote in message
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Damson Rhee

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Apr 28, 2003, 9:33:50 PM4/28/03
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I was into the Kingston Trio even when I was just a rugrat. I went to
Boston last September. Riding on the MTA was a big thrill, to say the
least. It was a thrill.
D
"Ray E" <ray.pat...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:Ww%qa.455$a12.67...@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com...

Jeff Lee

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Apr 29, 2003, 9:13:15 PM4/29/03
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If you're interested in catching one of the co-writers of the original
"MTA Song," Jackie Steiner will be the guest performer at the Pioneer
Valley Folklore Society Song & Story Swap on June 13 in Amherst, Mass.

More at http://www.filbert.com/pvfs/

Jeff Lee

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