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Gandy Dancers: Custodians of the Railroad Lines
| Content Provider | WatchKnowLearn |
|---|---|
| Description | Musical traditions and recollections of eight retired African-American railroad track laborers whose occupational folk songs were once heard on railroads that crisscross the South. "Gandy dancer" is a slang term used for early railroad workers who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines. It appears that no one knows for certain where the term originated. A majority of early railway workers were Irish, so an Irish or Gaelic derivation for the English term seems possible. Some associate the word "gandy" with the sound of the Gaelic word "cinnte", which may be translated as "constant". Another possible meaning for the word cinnte, if this is the proper origin, is "certainty," i.e., the importance of the work to prevent trains from derailing, suggesting that the workers must do their "dance" in "constant rain or withering heat". |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | History of Railroads k-12 homeschool homeschooling home school parents educational videos k12 preK-12 Miscellaneous History Topics History of Transportation History |
| Content Type | Video |
| Educational Role | Student Teacher |
| Educational Use | Self Learning |
| Time Required | PT1M51S |
| Resource Type | Music Recording |
| Subject | History |
