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M.T.A. (song)

January 07, 2023

"M.T.A.", often called "The MTA Song", is a 1949 song by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes. Known informally as "Charlie on the MTA", the song's lyrics tell an absurd tale of a man named Charlie trapped on Boston's subway system, which was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The song was originally recorded as a mayoral campaign song for Progressive Party candidate Walter A. O'Brien. A version of the song with the candidate's name changed became a 1959 hit when recorded and released by The Kingston Trio, an American folk singing group.[1]

The song has become so entrenched in Boston lore that the Boston-area transit authority named its electronic card-based fare collection system the "CharlieCard" as a tribute to this song.[2] The transit organization, now called the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), held a dedication ceremony for the card system in 2004 which featured a performance of the song by the Kingston Trio, attended by then-governor Mitt Romney.[1][3]

Overview

The Kingston Trio version begins with a spoken recitation by Dave Guard accompanied by a solo cello in a low register: "These are the times that try men's souls. In the course of our nation's history, the people of Boston have rallied bravely whenever the rights of men have been threatened. Today, a new crisis has arisen. The Metropolitan Transit Authority, better known as the MTA, is attempting to levy a burdensome tax on the population, in the form of a subway fare increase. Citizens, hear me out! This could happen to you."

The song's lyrics[4] tell of Charlie, a man who boards an MTA subway car, but then cannot get off because he does not have enough money for new "exit fares". These additional charges had just been established to collect an increased fare without replacing existing fare collection equipment.

When he got there the conductor told him,
"One more nickel."
Charlie couldn't get off of that train.

The song goes on to say that every day Charlie's wife hands him a sandwich "as the train comes rumbling through" because he is stranded on the train. It is probably best known for its chorus:

Did he ever return?
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn'd
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

After the third line of the chorus, in the natural break in the phrasing, audiences familiar with the song often call out "Poor Old Charlie!" or "What a pity!" As the song fades out, the words "Et tu, Charlie?" are spoken by Nick Reynolds, meaning "You too, Charlie?"

History

The song, based on a much older version called "The Ship That Never Returned" (or its railroad successor, "Wreck of the Old 97"), was composed in 1949 as part of the election campaign of Walter A. O'Brien, a Progressive Party candidate for Boston mayor. O'Brien was unable to afford radio advertisements, so he enlisted local folk singers to write and sing songs from a touring truck with a loudspeaker (he was later fined $10 for "disturbing the peace").[4][5]

One of O'Brien's major campaign planks was to lower the price of riding the subway by removing the complicated fare structure involving exit fares—so complicated that at one point it required a nine-page explanatory booklet. The Progressive Party had opposed the public buyout of Boston's streetcar system, which it argued enriched the previous private ownership and was followed by higher fares to city residents. In the Kingston Trio recording, the name "Walter A. O'Brien" was changed to "George O'Brien", apparently to avoid risking protests that had hit an earlier recording, when the song was seen as celebrating a socialist politician.[1][6]

Geography

The song has Charlie boarding at the Kendall Square station (now called Kendall/MIT) and changing for Jamaica Plain. Kendall is on what is now the Red Line (the lines were not color-coded until 1965), so his "change for Jamaica Plain" would have been at Park Street. There, he would have boarded a #39 streetcar (later the Green Line E branch) for Jamaica Plain. In 1949, the line went all the way to Arborway in Jamaica Plain, but the line was truncated to Heath Street at the northern edge of Jamaica Plain in 1985.

The song further mentions that his wife visited him every day at Scollay Square, which today is Government Center on the Green Line.

Chart history

The Kingston Trio

Chart (1959) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] 15

In popular culture

Music

  • The Chad Mitchell Trio song "Super Skier", written by Bob Gibson, used the tune and although its lyrics have nothing to do with subways, ends with a call to "get Charlie off the MTA".
  • Boston-based punk rock band Dropkick Murphys wrote a variation, Skinhead on the MBTA, with a skinhead in place of Charlie, on their 1998 album Do or Die.
  • The Front Porch Country Band recorded a song called "The Man Who Finally Returned" about Charlie getting off the MTA.
  • Bob Haworth, a member of The Kingston Trio, wrote and recorded a song called "MTA Revisited" in 2004.
  • Fred Small wrote and recorded a parody called "Sergei in the Milky Way" with the true story of Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalyov, who was temporarily stranded in space when the Soviet Union broke up. Small mimicked the Kingston Trio arrangement almost note for note.
  • Frank Black sings "You can't get off your stop / Like old Charlie on the MTA" in his song "Living on Soul".
  • In Malcolm in the Middle, the song was performed by Hal's bluegrass group The Gentleman Callers, in the episode "Long Drive".
  • In response to the 2022 monthlong shutdown of the MBTA Orange Line, a group of local musicians gathered at Back Bay Station to perform a parody called "Charlie (Baker) on the MBTA," with lyrics mocking the shutdown as well as Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker's reputation for never utilizing public transit while in office.[8] A clip from the performance was featured on All Things Considered's segment about the shutdown.[9]

Other

  • The computer scientist Henry Baker references the song in his paper "CONS Should Not CONS Its Arguments, Part II: Cheney on the M.T.A.", which describes a way of implementing Cheney's algorithm using C functions that, like Charlie, never return.[10]
  • The computer scientists Guy L. Steele Jr. and Gerald Jay Sussman also make reference to the song in one of the Lambda Papers when discussing functions such as the Lisp driver loop which never returns, just like Charlie in the song.[11]
  • In the video game Aion, a quest involves acquiring enough coins to return to the mainland. On its webpages regarding the two quests, ZAM Network says, "If you spend your last Kinah getting to Pandaemonium or while in Pandaemonium, you can't get out without the teleport fee, like poor old Charlie."

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Moskowitz, Eric (December 26, 2010). "Charlie's true history moves out from the underground". The Boston Globe.
  2. ^ This can be seen on various billboards throughout the T system, notably at the Woodland T Station.
  3. ^ . The Kingston Trio. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b Reed, Jonathan (Jan 29, 2019). "Charlie on the M.T.A." MIT. Retrieved Aug 6, 2019.
  5. ^ Dreier, Peter; Vrabel, Jim (Spring 2008). (PDF). Dissent. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2012.
  6. ^ See letter from Kate O'Brien Hartig, daughter of Walter, to Rod MacDonald, February 3, 2001. Retrieved July 26, 2007.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 466.
  8. ^ "In response to the 30 day Orange Line shut down we flash-mobbed on the platform of Back Bay Station for an encore of "Charlie (Baker) on the MBTA": #boston #charlieonthemta #mbta #orangeline #orangelineshutdown". Twitter. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  9. ^ Rios, Simon (19 August 2022). "Boston's Orange Line will be shut down for a month for repairs". NPR. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  10. ^ Henry G. Baker (Aug 1, 1995). "CONS Should Not CONS Its Arguments, part II: Cheney on the M.T.A." ACM SIGPLAN Notices. 30 (9): 17–20. doi:10.1145/214448.214454. ISSN 0362-1340. S2CID 20720831.
  11. ^ Guy Lewis Steele Jr.; Gerald Jay Sussman (1978). (PDF) (Technical report). MIT AI Laboratory. p. 67. hdl:1721.1/6094. AIM-453. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2018.

External links

  • Charlie on the MTA lyrics and history
  • Boston Globe obituary of Bess Hawes
  • Video with soundtrack of the Kingston Trio recording on YouTube
  • "Will Charlie Ever Get Off That Train?" by Peter Dreier and Jim Vrabel

January 07, 2023
song, often, called, song, 1949, song, jacqueline, steiner, bess, lomax, hawes, known, informally, charlie, song, lyrics, tell, absurd, tale, named, charlie, trapped, boston, subway, system, which, then, known, metropolitan, transit, authority, song, originall. M T A often called The MTA Song is a 1949 song by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes Known informally as Charlie on the MTA the song s lyrics tell an absurd tale of a man named Charlie trapped on Boston s subway system which was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Authority MTA The song was originally recorded as a mayoral campaign song for Progressive Party candidate Walter A O Brien A version of the song with the candidate s name changed became a 1959 hit when recorded and released by The Kingston Trio an American folk singing group 1 The song has become so entrenched in Boston lore that the Boston area transit authority named its electronic card based fare collection system the CharlieCard as a tribute to this song 2 The transit organization now called the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA held a dedication ceremony for the card system in 2004 which featured a performance of the song by the Kingston Trio attended by then governor Mitt Romney 1 3 Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Geography 4 Chart history 4 1 The Kingston Trio 5 In popular culture 5 1 Music 5 2 Other 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOverview EditThe Kingston Trio version begins with a spoken recitation by Dave Guard accompanied by a solo cello in a low register These are the times that try men s souls In the course of our nation s history the people of Boston have rallied bravely whenever the rights of men have been threatened Today a new crisis has arisen The Metropolitan Transit Authority better known as the MTA is attempting to levy a burdensome tax on the population in the form of a subway fare increase Citizens hear me out This could happen to you The song s lyrics 4 tell of Charlie a man who boards an MTA subway car but then cannot get off because he does not have enough money for new exit fares These additional charges had just been established to collect an increased fare without replacing existing fare collection equipment When he got there the conductor told him One more nickel Charlie couldn t get off of that train The song goes on to say that every day Charlie s wife hands him a sandwich as the train comes rumbling through because he is stranded on the train It is probably best known for its chorus Did he ever return No he never returned And his fate is still unlearn d He may ride forever neath the streets of Boston He s the man who never returned After the third line of the chorus in the natural break in the phrasing audiences familiar with the song often call out Poor Old Charlie or What a pity As the song fades out the words Et tu Charlie are spoken by Nick Reynolds meaning You too Charlie History EditThe song based on a much older version called The Ship That Never Returned or its railroad successor Wreck of the Old 97 was composed in 1949 as part of the election campaign of Walter A O Brien a Progressive Party candidate for Boston mayor O Brien was unable to afford radio advertisements so he enlisted local folk singers to write and sing songs from a touring truck with a loudspeaker he was later fined 10 for disturbing the peace 4 5 One of O Brien s major campaign planks was to lower the price of riding the subway by removing the complicated fare structure involving exit fares so complicated that at one point it required a nine page explanatory booklet The Progressive Party had opposed the public buyout of Boston s streetcar system which it argued enriched the previous private ownership and was followed by higher fares to city residents In the Kingston Trio recording the name Walter A O Brien was changed to George O Brien apparently to avoid risking protests that had hit an earlier recording when the song was seen as celebrating a socialist politician 1 6 Geography EditThe song has Charlie boarding at the Kendall Square station now called Kendall MIT and changing for Jamaica Plain Kendall is on what is now the Red Line the lines were not color coded until 1965 so his change for Jamaica Plain would have been at Park Street There he would have boarded a 39 streetcar later the Green Line E branch for Jamaica Plain In 1949 the line went all the way to Arborway in Jamaica Plain but the line was truncated to Heath Street at the northern edge of Jamaica Plain in 1985 The song further mentions that his wife visited him every day at Scollay Square which today is Government Center on the Green Line Chart history EditThe Kingston Trio Edit Chart 1959 PeakpositionU S Billboard Hot 100 7 15In popular culture EditMusic Edit The Chad Mitchell Trio song Super Skier written by Bob Gibson used the tune and although its lyrics have nothing to do with subways ends with a call to get Charlie off the MTA Boston based punk rock band Dropkick Murphys wrote a variation Skinhead on the MBTA with a skinhead in place of Charlie on their 1998 album Do or Die The Front Porch Country Band recorded a song called The Man Who Finally Returned about Charlie getting off the MTA Bob Haworth a member of The Kingston Trio wrote and recorded a song called MTA Revisited in 2004 Fred Small wrote and recorded a parody called Sergei in the Milky Way with the true story of Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalyov who was temporarily stranded in space when the Soviet Union broke up Small mimicked the Kingston Trio arrangement almost note for note Frank Black sings You can t get off your stop Like old Charlie on the MTA in his song Living on Soul In Malcolm in the Middle the song was performed by Hal s bluegrass group The Gentleman Callers in the episode Long Drive In response to the 2022 monthlong shutdown of the MBTA Orange Line a group of local musicians gathered at Back Bay Station to perform a parody called Charlie Baker on the MBTA with lyrics mocking the shutdown as well as Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker s reputation for never utilizing public transit while in office 8 A clip from the performance was featured on All Things Considered s segment about the shutdown 9 Other Edit The computer scientist Henry Baker references the song in his paper CONS Should Not CONS Its Arguments Part II Cheney on the M T A which describes a way of implementing Cheney s algorithm using C functions that like Charlie never return 10 The computer scientists Guy L Steele Jr and Gerald Jay Sussman also make reference to the song in one of the Lambda Papers when discussing functions such as the Lisp driver loop which never returns just like Charlie in the song 11 In the video game Aion a quest involves acquiring enough coins to return to the mainland On its webpages regarding the two quests ZAM Network says If you spend your last Kinah getting to Pandaemonium or while in Pandaemonium you can t get out without the teleport fee like poor old Charlie See also EditList of train songsReferences Edit a b c Moskowitz Eric December 26 2010 Charlie s true history moves out from the underground The Boston Globe This can be seen on various billboards throughout the T system notably at the Woodland T Station Kingston Trio Tribute Photos The Kingston Trio 2010 Archived from the original on 21 December 2010 Retrieved 26 December 2010 a b Reed Jonathan Jan 29 2019 Charlie on the M T A MIT Retrieved Aug 6 2019 Dreier Peter Vrabel Jim Spring 2008 Banned in Red Scare Boston The Forgotten Story of Charlie and the M T A PDF Dissent Archived from the original PDF on June 9 2012 See letter from Kate O Brien Hartig daughter of Walter to Rod MacDonald February 3 2001 Retrieved July 26 2007 Whitburn Joel 2013 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 14th Edition 1955 2012 Record Research p 466 In response to the 30 day Orange Line shut down we flash mobbed on the platform of Back Bay Station for an encore of Charlie Baker on the MBTA boston charlieonthemta mbta orangeline orangelineshutdown Twitter Retrieved 25 August 2022 Rios Simon 19 August 2022 Boston s Orange Line will be shut down for a month for repairs NPR Retrieved 25 August 2022 Henry G Baker Aug 1 1995 CONS Should Not CONS Its Arguments part II Cheney on the M T A ACM SIGPLAN Notices 30 9 17 20 doi 10 1145 214448 214454 ISSN 0362 1340 S2CID 20720831 Guy Lewis Steele Jr Gerald Jay Sussman 1978 The Art of the Interpreter or The Modularity Complex Parts Zero One and Two PDF Technical report MIT AI Laboratory p 67 hdl 1721 1 6094 AIM 453 Archived from the original PDF on February 19 2018 External links EditCharlie on the MTA lyrics and history Boston Globe obituary of Bess Hawes Video with soundtrack of the Kingston Trio recording on YouTube Will Charlie Ever Get Off That Train by Peter Dreier and Jim Vrabel Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title M T A song amp oldid 1127614604, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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