Ride the blinds

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on July 17, 2009 at 13:39

In Reply to: Ride the blinds posted by Lance Donovan on July 17, 2009 at 08:38:

: What may be the origin of "Ride the blinds"?

"The blinds" is the area between cars of a passenger train that has a canvas covering. Riding the blinds was a hobo's way of riding for free. There's a line in "Travelin' Blues" by Blind Willie McTell where he speaks of riding the blinds.

Mr. Engineer, let a man ride the blinds
Mr. Engineer, let a poor man ride the blinds
Said "I wouldn't mind it, fella, but you know this train ain't mine."

There's a discussion here where some blues fans discuss meanings of various blues words and phrases: www.guitarseminars.com/ ubb/Forum1/HTML/002445.html