Today’s song of the day is the classic big-band hit “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller.

Fun Facts

• Written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, this song was featured in the 1941 musical movie Sun Valley Serenade.
• The performance was nominated for an Oscar and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996.
• The single was awarded the very first gold record presented by RCA Victor for selling 1.2 million copies.
• Glenn Miller recorded a version with the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra to be sent to soldiers in World War II.
• Too old for the military, Miller volunteered to lead a military band to entertain troops abroad and lead parades. He was accepted into the Army Specialist Corps as a captain.
• Shortly after his departure, Miller’s band’s headquarters in London was demolished by a German bomb.
• During a flight from Bedford, England, to Paris, Miller’s plane disappeared over the English Channel and was never found.
• Conspiracy theories include Nazi assassination, a heart attack after a brothel visit and friendly fire from Allied bombers. The most accepted theory is that his plane flew into cold weather, froze and crashed.
• A military investigation found that his plane suffered maintenance issues, one of which included the carburetor that could have caused a nosedive in cold conditions.
• Miller was posthumously awarded a bronze star by the US Army.

Lyrics

(Musixmatch)

Hi there Tex, what you say?

Step aside partner, it’s my day

Bend an ear and listen to my version

Of a really solid Tennesse excursion

Pardon me, boy

Is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?

Yes, yes, track twenty-nine

Boy, you can gimme a shine

Can you afford to board the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?

I’ve got my fare

And just a trifle to spare

You leave the Pennsylvania Station ’bout a quarter to four

Read a magazine, and then you’re in Baltimore

Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer

Than to have you ham and eggs in Carolina

When you hear the whistle blowing eight to the bar

Then you know that Tennessee is not very far

Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin’

Woo-woo, Chattanooga there you are

There’s gonna be

A certain party at the station

Satin and lace (doo doo)

I used to call “Funny Face”

She’s gonna cry

Until I tell her that I’ll never roam

So Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Won’t you choo-choo me home?

Chattanooga, Chattanooga

Get aboard

Chattanooga, Chattanooga

All aboard

Chattanooga, Chattanooga

Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Won’t you choo-choo me home?

Chatanooga Choo-Choo