I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

E480720

American song children's song folk song

"I’ve Been Working on the Railroad" is a traditional American folk song and children’s tune that humorously depicts the daily life and labor of railroad workers.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
I've Been Working on the Railway	1
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad canonical	1
Working on the Railroad	1
“I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T4946610 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
Context triple: [The Eyes of Texas, melodyBasedOn, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad]

A. The Trolley Song
"The Trolley Song" is a classic show tune from the 1944 film *Meet Me in St. Louis*, widely recognized as one of Judy Garland’s most iconic musical performances.
B. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train
Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is a critically acclaimed stage play that explores themes of faith, justice, and morality through the story of inmates at Rikers Island.
C. House by the Railroad
House by the Railroad is a 1925 painting by American realist artist Edward Hopper, depicting a solitary Victorian house beside railroad tracks and often interpreted as a symbol of modern isolation and alienation.
D. Ol' Man River
Ol' Man River is a classic American song from the 1927 musical "Show Boat," renowned for its powerful, soulful melody and poignant commentary on African American hardship and resilience.
E. Light Train
Light Train is a type of urban rail transit system characterized by relatively low weight vehicles, moderate capacity, and operation often on dedicated or semi-exclusive tracks for short- to medium-distance passenger transport.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
Target entity description: "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad" is a traditional American folk song and children’s tune that humorously depicts the daily life and labor of railroad workers.

A. The Trolley Song
"The Trolley Song" is a classic show tune from the 1944 film *Meet Me in St. Louis*, widely recognized as one of Judy Garland’s most iconic musical performances.
B. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train
Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is a critically acclaimed stage play that explores themes of faith, justice, and morality through the story of inmates at Rikers Island.
C. House by the Railroad
House by the Railroad is a 1925 painting by American realist artist Edward Hopper, depicting a solitary Victorian house beside railroad tracks and often interpreted as a symbol of modern isolation and alienation.
D. Ol' Man River
Ol' Man River is a classic American song from the 1927 musical "Show Boat," renowned for its powerful, soulful melody and poignant commentary on African American hardship and resilience.
E. Light Train
Light Train is a type of urban rail transit system characterized by relatively low weight vehicles, moderate capacity, and operation often on dedicated or semi-exclusive tracks for short- to medium-distance passenger transport.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (44)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	American song ⓘ children's song ⓘ folk song ⓘ
author	unknown ⓘ
composer	unknown ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
depicts	railroad work ⓘ railroad workers ⓘ
firstLine	I've been working on the railroad ⓘ linked to: The Railroad
genre	children's music ⓘ folk ⓘ work song ⓘ
hasAlternativeTitle	I've Been Working on the Railway ⓘ linked to: I’ve Been Working on the Railroad Working on the Railroad ⓘ linked to: I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
hasApproximateDateOfOrigin	late 19th century ⓘ
hasCulturalAssociation	American folk tradition ⓘ railroad folklore ⓘ
hasEducationalUse	teaching American folk repertoire ⓘ teaching pitch matching ⓘ teaching rhythm ⓘ
hasForm	strophic song ⓘ
hasLyricalFeature	call-and-response elements ⓘ nonsense syllables ⓘ
hasMelodicFeature	simple repetitive melody ⓘ
hasPart	Dinah, won't you blow ⓘ Fee-fi-fiddly-i-o ⓘ Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah ⓘ
hasStatus	traditional ⓘ
hasSubject	daily life of railroad workers ⓘ
intendedAudience	children ⓘ families ⓘ
isTaughtIn	music education for children ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
meter	4/4 time ⓘ
portrays	manual labor ⓘ
theme	American railroads ⓘ humor ⓘ labor ⓘ
typicalPerformanceContext	family gatherings ⓘ schools ⓘ summer camps ⓘ
usedAs	campfire song ⓘ children's sing-along song ⓘ nursery song ⓘ