Episode 256: Riding the Gravy Train

This week Shauna and Dan call all aboard on the Gravy Train. Bonus: Dubious origins, bad maths, Pink Floyd, and poutine.

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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 256: Riding the Gravy Train
Record Date: November 10, 2024
Air Date: November 27, 2024

Intro

Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.

I’m Shauna Harrison

Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh

Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.

Opening Hook
Have you ever wanted to find that easy path in life? The one where you have a good job that doesn’t require much, but makes great money. Or maybe the one where you can work on your hobbies all the time because you’ve got someone supporting your lifestyle. I think we all might want to find a way to board that gravy train.

Meaning

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one definition of ‘gravy’ is:

Quote
Money easily acquired; an unearned or unexpected bonus; a tip. Hence, to ride the gravy train, to obtain easy financial success
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/gravy_n?tab=meaning_and_use#2392309

Gravy, the food, is something that is easy to make. It comes from the juices of the meat you have already cooked, then you can add spices or flour or other things to make it thicker or richer, but in all cases it is cheap because it is already part of the cooking process and easy. Which makes it easy understanding why ‘gravy’ might have taken on a meaning of money that is easily gained.

As far as gravy train goes, most internet sleuths seem to agree this originated with railroad slang, though as with so many other things on the internet, we don’t have any actual evidence to support this claim. The story is thus: many folks thought working on a train was easy money. Clearly they weren’t talking about building train tracks, but rather working as crew to haul a load. And perhaps there is some truth to the railroad slang origin, but I couldn’t find any evidence to support that this phrase is railroad slang. And I haven’t seen anyone that is making this claim support it with evidence, either. The Oxford English Dictionary just says it is slang, originally from the US, which means they don’t have evidence of it being railroad slang either. I wonder if the association was made because of the word ‘train’ being attached to ‘gravy’, or if it truly is from the easy paycheck that came with working on a train back in those days.

1898
The first usage I found is from the Unionville Republican out of Missouri dated August 31, 1898. The piece is called “Chickamauga Letter” with a byline of Chickamauga Parke, Lytle, GA Aug. 29 and addressed to the Unionville Republican and was signed by James Talton Estep.

Quote
…Some of them have humbled themselves before Gov. Shaw and gone to Washington and reported to the Secretary of war that nine-tenths of the boys wanted to go to some of our new possession to do garrison duty. If they had said one-tenth I think they would have come nearer being right. Still we can’t blame them much, for this war is a gravy train for them. They can sit back in their tents and watch the boys work, with 3 or 4 orderlies to wait to on them, and not give them a pleasant look, and at the end of every month take in $300 or $400.
End Quote
https://newspaperarchive.com/unionville-republican-aug-31-1898-p-4/

1908
This next one is out of the Americus Times-Recorder June 16, 1908. This is out of Americus, Georgia. It features the story of Colonel W.P. Jowers, local farmer, who is sitting on 180 bales of choice cotton. He is waiting for cotton prices to rise again before he sells them. The article notes he did the same last year and sold all of his 300 bales in one go at the peak of the price last summer. And that prompted the headline:

Quote
This Farmer Has Berth on Gravy Train
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89053204/1908-06-16/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1756&sort=date&date2=1963&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=3&words=Gravy+Train&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=gravy+train&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


1914
Here’s an example from university life in the Ole Miss 1913-1914, the Official Year Book of the University of Mississippi. The chapter is called “Ole Miss as She is Spoke” and features a word and the word used in a sentence. Her is our phrase:

Quote
Gravy Train - Freshman Math???? Get off that gravy train.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ole_Miss/NtghAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22gravy+train%22&pg=PP207&printsec=frontcover

I believe the implication is that freshman math is too easy. But as someone who has a hate/hate relationship with math, meaning I hate it and it hates me, I wouldn’t also opt for the most gravy of the maths.

1920
This is from a work called Harnessing Man-Power of Church by Frank Lee Slaymaker published in 1920. It details a recruitment campaign for bringing in new members to the church, and focuses on taking the ‘young men’ and splitting them into two teams, competitive, that would try to bring more people to the church, with a reward for the winning team and a penalty for the losing team. Here was one such suggestion, and frankly the only one I could find that didn’t treat women like property.

Quote
One of the best reward and penalty plans is in the form of a banquet to be paid for by the original members of the losing side, new members secured on that side during the contest not being expected to pay, and the winners to ‘ride the gravy train’.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harnessing_the_Man_power_of_the_Church/1BI3AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22gravy+train%22&pg=PA71&printsec=frontcover


1927
Here’s an example from a book of American sayings called “American Speech, Volume II, 1926-1927”. This was edited by Louise Pound of the University of Nebraska, Kemp Malone of Johns Hopkins University, and Arthur Kennedy of Stanford University. It was published in 1927. Here is the simple entry:

Quote
Gravy train - Sinecure
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Speech/79c4AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22gravy+train%22&pg=PA276&printsec=frontcover

If, like me, you didn’t know what sinecure meant, according to Merriam Webster it means:

Quote
an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income
End Quote
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sinecure

So gravy train, in this book of American slang, means something that requires little to no work but still provides money.

1932
This is an example from the Sweetwater Nolan County News, Sweetwater, Texas October 27, 1932. In it, the Republican gubernatorial candidate Orville Bullington had some fighting words for two prominent Democrats that held some power at the time.

Quote
And they are sore and scared because I am about to wreck their gravy train. If you will elect me governor I will put on my boots and spurs and ride both of them off of Capitol Hill, Bullington shouted.
End Quote
https://newspaperarchive.com/sweetwater-nolan-county-news-oct-27-1832-p-10/

Bullington lost to Miriam Ferguson, who herself was a former Governor of Texas and who had defeated the current Democratic Governor of Texas in a close primary battle.

A quick note about something you may find if you are looking into this phrase. Everyone and their cousin posts about a W.C. Handy song in 1914 where he sings about falling off the gravy train. But I went through the lyrics of every W.C. Handy song I could find and could not find whatever song is being referenced. No one ever says the name of it, which makes me think it doesn’t actually exist. The closest I could find was 1912’s Yellow Dog Blues which is about the concept of falling off the gravy train, but that phrase is not used in the song. Instead the term Easy Rider is used. So if any of our astute listeners out there are blues historians and can point me to a song, that would be awesome. For now, I’m going to have to say there is no evidence to support this widely-distributed claim.

With that, it’s time to move to our more modern uses but first we need to say thank you to our sponsors.

A Quick Thank You
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Modern Uses


1958
We’ll start in 1958 with the West End Musical Expresso Bongo. It stars Paul Scofield as Johnny, a slimy, small-time music promoter and talent scout who notices teenage girls going crazy for the singing and bongo playing of talentless and seemingly idiotic Herbert Rudge (played by James Kenney). Johnny rechristens Rudge as "Bongo Herbert" and signs him to a contract that gives Johnny a 50% share of the profits. With Johnny's help, Bongo rockets to stardom. Bongo's success attracts a host of sleazy music industry types intent on exploiting him. Johnny quickly finds himself outclassed in the sleaze department as Bongo turns out to be the slipperiest slime of them all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expresso_Bongo

One of the songs near the end of the production is called The Gravy Train and is sung by the character Johnny, Paul Scofield. The Original Cast recording of the soundtrack was released in 1979, 22 years after the show originally aired at the Saville Theatre in April 1958. Here is the opening line of The Gravy Train:

Quote
I’ve packed my bag
I’ve got my ticket
And I was on the train to Shangri La
There’s a palace to rent there
But for me not a tent there
Cause I have to get off the gravy train
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_RbuDoOuRc

1974
The Gravy Train was a 1974 American Crime Comedy starring Stacy Keach and Fredrick Forrest. The film is also sometimes called The Dion Brothers. Here is the synopsis from the trailer.

Quote
Two good old boys from West Virginia rob and stomp their way to glory riding The Gravy Train
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJc7msGD4TE

1975
Here’s another example, this time in the lyrics of Pink Floyd’s 1975 song “Have a Cigar” off the album Wish You Were Here. Here are the lyrics:

Quote
Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar, you're gonna go far
You're gonna fly,
you're never gonna die You're gonna make it if you try, they're gonna love you
Well, I've always had a deep respect and I mean that most sincere
The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think
Oh, by the way, which one's pink?

And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it riding the gravy train
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbdpv7G_PPg

1990
The Gravy Train was a TV Mini Series that aired on Channel 4 in 1990. It starred Christoph Waltz, Ian Richardson, and Almanta Suska. It is described by the British Comedy Guide as:

Quote
Satire about the widespread fraud and corruption within the European Economic Community.
End Quote
https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_gravy_train/

2003
The Gravy Train by Philip Bushill-Matthews is a tell-all book released in 2003 by Polperro Heritage Press. Their synopsis says the book:

Quote
Charts the progress of a businessman who, frustrated by increasing EU regulation made by politicians with no experience of the real world, quits a successful career in order to become a Member of the European Parliament. In a candid and humorous account, Philip Bushill-Matthews reveals what he found in his new role and lays bare many of the excesses and bureaucratic bunglings of the EU, from fraud and corruption to dotty directives. Avoiding political jargon, he gives an insight into many of the issues of the day and exposes full details of MEP's pay and expenses.
End Quote
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Gravy_Train.html?id=8hu-AAAACAAJ


2018
Of course, Yung Gravy has a song called Gravy Train, which debuted in 2018 on his Youtube page but was ultimately released in 2019 on the album Sensational. I cannot actually tell you any of the lyrics, because they don’t go more than one line without using a curse word. The song is interesting because it samples Maxine Nightingale’s 1975 song “Right Back Where We Started From”. Sampling is where an artist uses elements of an existing song and recontextualizes it to help make a new song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpSTwj6Plc8

Sampling is a fascinating concept, so in our behind the scenes video this week we are going to look more into what is ‘Sampling in music’ and some of the history behind it. You can find that every Friday on our Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod

2018
In 2018 the dog food brand, Gravy Train (founded in 1959), hit the news due to it containing low-levels of pentobarbital - a drug that is used to euthanize animals. Here is a quick overview from March 14, 2018 from the American Veterinary Medical Association website:

Quote
One dog died and others became ill after, in late 2016, eating canned food from Evanger's Dog and Cat Food Co. that was contaminated with pentobarbital. WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., later tested 62 samples of wet dog food across more than two dozen brands for pentobarbital. Nine of 15 cans of Gravy Train from J.M. Smucker had positive results. After learning of the results, J.M. Smucker initiated a withdrawal of all lots of canned dog food from its Gravy Train, Kibbles 'N Bits, Ol' Roy, and Skippy brands manufactured from 2016 through Feb. 16.
End Quote
https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2018-04-01/fda-issues-alert-about-pentobarbital-contamination-dog-food

9 of 15 is - wait… carry the one, divide by pi, add the whole integer… 60%. 60%. That’s like, more than half of them.

Current
I don’t want to end on a depressing note, so one more for you, especially if you live in or near Sheffield in the UK. This is The Gravy Train Poutine. They are currently based at the Neepsend Social Club and Canteen. They have a cool overview on their website:

Quote
Since it came kicking and screaming into the world way back in the 1950s ‘poutine’ has rightly become a cult classic throughout Canada, the US and more recently Sheffield! For the uninitiated, poutine is a French-Canadian dish consisting of seasoned skin-on french fries, the ‘squeakiest’ cheddar cheese curds and an absolutely killer chicken gravy. The beauty of poutine is in its simplicity - there’s no room for half measures, that’s why we took five whole years to finally settle on our now top secret gravy recipe and we continue to source the tastiest cheese curds the Cheddar Valley has to offer.  

Contrary to our own well-being we sampled all kinds of weird and wonderful incarnations of the good stuff back when we visited the land they call Canadia back in 2014. Since then we have been up and down the country at street food events, music festivals, private gigs and kitchen residencies selling our wares and honing our recipes. Far from just ‘le classique’ we’ve got all kinds of downright dirty toppings to load your poutine; bbq shredded chicken, candied bacon, garlic mushrooms to name a few with all kinds of options for our veggie and vegan friends.

The fun don’t stop there though, since we’ve take on a residency down at Neepsend Social Club & Canteen we’ve also been working hard on some other great additions to our menu. If its dirty food you’re after then we’ve got ya - smashed burgers, fried chicken, deep fried cheese curds and more line up alongside the poutine we know and love. We’re always keeping it friggidy-fresh down at GT-HQ so be sure to give us a follow on socials to keep up with our newest culinary creations and seasonal specials.
End Quote
https://www.thegtpoutine.com/

Wrap Up
I happen to like gravy in almost all of its forms, and so I don’t have any opposition to gravy train as a phrase. But I could see if someone hated gravy how they may be immediately put off by the phrase. Still, I think all of us would be okay if we found that proverbial gravy train and never had to worry about finances again a day in our life.

Dan:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included,
reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com

Shauna:
It’s poll time!

Recently we asked our Patrons, would they prefer an outdoor concert or an outdoor movie?

Three quarters of our Patrons voted for an outdoor concert.

Emily says:
Quote
I’ll take live entertainment over a movie any day.
End Quote

Dan:
Heather added:

Quote
I love going to any concert, indoors or out. But I have some really fun memories of outdoor concerts from college. Maybe its an age thing as much as the place.
End Quote

I also love outdoor concerts. Shauna drug me to a Halestorm concert outside last year. It's more her music than mine, but it was still fun. I've seen some good movies outside though, because Wichita still has a drive in theater!


Shauna:
As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!

Outro

Shauna:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,

Together:
Words belong to their users.