CASEY JONES - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“casey jones” originated as a ballad in the early 20th century, inspired by the real-life locomotive engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones, who died in 1900. The first copyrighted version was published in 1909 by T. Lawrence Seibert and Eddie Newton, and early recordings by folk and vaudeville performers soon followed.

The song has appeared in country, folk, jazz, and skiffle interpretations throughout the decades. Its lyrics recount the heroic, if tragic, story of a train engineer, while the melody uses a narrative, verse-driven structure well suited to storytelling performance traditions.