Far Away Boys - Irish Railroad Immigrant Experience

Based on the speaker's nationality, which historical railroad company is he most likely working for?

• Union Pacific
• Central Pacifc
• Reading Railroad
• B&O Railroad

How does the song depict the labor conditions of railroad work?

• Hard but satisfying labor.
• Hard and potentially deadly labor.
• Easy but mindless labor
• Easy and satisfying labor.

What sacrifice did railroad workers have to make that are illustrated in the song?

• They sacrificed money as tools and gear were expensive.
• They sacrificed dream jobs and careers because building the railroads were more important to the country than the jobs they wanted to do.
• The sacrificed time and relationships spent with family and loved ones.
• They were getting paid; they didn't have to give up anything.

What detail or lines illustrate the discrimination Irish immigrants faced during the 1800's?

• Well, I worked on the railroad

  For twopence a day

  Drank down one penny

  The other I'd save

  
  

• Far away, boys, far away, boys

  Away from you now

  I'm lying with my sweetheart

  In her arms I'll be found

  
  

• They're only paddys, just paddys

  Don't dig them too deep

  You'll need all your strength, boys

  They're replaced easily

  
  

• We came to a mountain

  Dynamite and she'll blow

  A big hole in that rock

  Like the one in my soul

  
  

The mountain dynamited in the song would have likely been part of which western range given other context clues?

• The Rocky Mountains
• The Cascade Mountains
• The Sierra Nevada Mountains
• The Ozark Mountains

What detail illustrates that railway work during the construction of the transcontinental railroad was potentially deadly?

• We came to a mountain

  Dynamite and she'll blow

  A big hole in that rock

  Like the one in my soul

  
  

• Then the sun belched upon me

  You were no longer here

  Lying in your place was

  My hammer and my gear

  
  

• We buried four workmen

  They dug themselves well

  From four empty coffins

  To four early graves

  
  

• Well, I worked on the railroad

  For twopence a day

  Drank down one penny

  The other I'd save

  
  

Which detail illustrates the long hours railroad workers endured?

• I hammered and I hammered

  For God knows how long

  Well into madness

  With each setting sun

  
  

• Far away, boys, far away, boys

  Away from you now

  I'm lying with my sweetheart

  In her arms I'll be found

  
  

• Then the sun belched upon me

  You were no longer here

  Lying in your place was

  My hammer and my gear

  
  

• We buried four workmen

  They dug themselves well

  From four empty coffins

  To four early graves

  
  

Which detail indicates the large numbers of Irish immigrants moving to the U.S. and involved in railroad work?

• So I stamped out the fire

  That kept us both warm

  The ashes were falling

  Like the snowdrops of old

  
  

• We came to a mountain

  Dynamite and she'll blow

  A big hole in that rock

  Like the one in my soul

  
  

• They're only paddys, just paddys

  Don't dig them too deep

  You'll need all your strength, boys

  They're replaced easily

  
  

• Someone said it was Christmas

  Not a tree was in sight

  The only thing growing

  Was my will to die

  
  

Assuming the song's order also follows the progress of the Union Pacific railroad, what geographic area is most likely being described in the lines

"Someone said it was Christmas

Not a tree was in sight

The only thing growing

Was my will to die"

• The Great Planes

• The Rocky Mountains

• The Utah Desert

• The Sierra Nevada Mountains

The song presents an overall _______ depiction of the Irish immigrant experience of railroad work.

• positive

• negative

• neutral

• happy