During the mid-19th century, Irish immigrants worked to build railways in the United States. The song reflects the work that thousands of Irish section crews did as track layers, gaugers, spikers, and bolters. The song begins in 1841, during the time of the Irish diaspora. For a number of versions, the melody of the first lines of each stanza resembles the song "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" and its later American counterpart "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". This song has been performed by numerous musicians and singers, including Ewan MacColl, The Weavers, The Dubliners, The Wolfe Tones and The Pogues. An abbreviated version was printed in The Burl Ives Songbook.