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-   -   Midnight Special (http://www.creedence-online.net/forum/showthread.php?t=82)

Anonymous 31.07.2003 09:16

What is a 'Midnight Special'?

Anonymous 01.08.2003 23:25

rock and roll

Anonymous 03.08.2003 17:17

[b][/b] It's a train.

Anonymous 09.08.2003 22:05

I believe the Midnight Special was train that would transport a prisoner's woman who would try and procure the inmate's freedom from governor. Also, I believe the prison thought that if the light shined on them while coming down the line, it had some bearing on whether they would be released. I'm currently trying to confirm the history of this song. So if anyone has any further information, please post it.

Rav3n

Prisoner of the Porch 20.08.2003 02:06

All I know it is was written by Leadbelly in the 30's I believe.

Anonymous 22.08.2003 00:08

In the version of Lead Belly, the Midnight Special is a train “The Golden Gate Ltd, between Houston and San Francisco that on his way passes in front of the Texas State Prison in Sugarland, where Lead Belly was in prison..

In the version of Big Joe Turner it’s also a train, that, on a saturday, used to bring whores to well behave prisoners.
It was one of the most popular prisonsong in the south of the States, especially after a prisonrebellion in 1923 in Houston. The song in fact has to be much older, the copyright from Howard Odum dates from 1911.
Another prisonsong ‘If you ever go to Jackson”, uses the same melody.

Anonymous 30.08.2003 05:23

Slightly OT but still on. Tonight on the way home I heard Buckwheat Zydeco's version of the song. Now I know that CCR's Midnight Special was was used in a movie but I cannot remeber which movie it was to save my soul. I just remeber that it was near the end of the movie, Anyone remember the film?

Anonymous 09.09.2003 04:13

kool hand luke

Anonymous 27.03.2004 02:52

The song was written during prohibition by a man serving time in a local jail in Newport News, Virginia. The "midnight special" was a police car, outfitted with a spot light. The "man" would drive up and down the allyways looking for illegal nip joints and such. He would use his search "light" to find illegal drinking and nip joints. The song was origionally written as (Don't) let the midnight special, shine its light on me! This is because if it did, you would be caught, busted and sent up to face "the man". So one did not want the "midnight special" to shine it's light on me. The man who origionally wrote the lyrics to this song sold them while still incarcerated. To do more research, search the archives of The Daily Press newspaper in Newport News Va. The did a article on this about 15 years ago. John Jones email: [email=][vapnut@hotmail.com]

Anonymous 07.08.2005 10:22

The Midnight Special is a train. "Shine a light on me" is a reference to sitting on the tracks and waiting for the train to come and end one's life. It is a song about Suicide.

Also, I believe that "Midnight Special" was in the movie Creepshow.


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