Swannanoa Tunnel / Steel-Driving Man - Traditional, arr. Rhiannon Giddens 

“Swannanoa Tunnel” or “O Babe” originated from the black laborers who built the tunnel before crossing over into white culture. The black voices that created the song were soon forgotten, which has happened quite often within the African American experience. “Swannanoa Tunnel” is my tribute to the ghosts of the hard working men who gave their lives, yet whose stories have been forgotten and words claimed not as their own; a reminder of where this music truly comes from. “Steel Driving Man” is a version of the popular traditional tune “John Henry”, the well known folk hero who beat the steam drill with his hammer, only to die of a burst heart in the end. The version I play is from my mentor Joe Thompson, black traditional fiddler from my part of North Carolina”.

Much thanks to the incredible scholarship of Kevin Kehrberg & Jeffrey A. Keith, who painstakingly uncovered this story.