September 06, 2008
Charlie on the MTA
"'Neath the streets of Boston," today. Photo by Manya Chylinski.
Charlie has never returned and never aged. With the help of the Kingston Trio, he made the Boston MTA so famous they named subway passes after him ... 
In 1959, Charlie was still stuck on the subway, but he worked his way into the popular imagination thanks to the Kingston Trio and their song "M.T.A." They made the song famous outside Boston — it sold over 800,000 copies as song #1 on side one of The Kingston Trio At Large — but they weren't the first to record it.
"M.T.A was originally written for a candidate in Boston's 1949 mayoral election: Walter O'Brien, of the Progressive Party. O'Brien's campaign platform included a call to eliminate complicated exit fares on the MTA, the cause of Charlie's woe. The melody is from the folk song "Wreck of the Old 97," which was recorded in the 1920s and based on "The Ship That Never Returned," a folk song from the early 1800s, with a chorus remarkably similar to the "M.T.A" song.
The song is forever linked to the Kingston Trio, but they didn't have a particular connection to Boston, although one of their founding members had distant relatives from Massachusetts. Neither did they select the song for any political reason, as they preferred to keep their politics offstage and to themselves.
The Kingston Trio decided to record the song simply because they liked the sound of it. The group played in Boston during their heyday, and at least every couple of years since. This song remains a popular request at their concerts in Boston. At one concert in the 1980s, they sang it three times because of requests.
As for Charlie: He's still stuck on the subway. But he was honored in 2006 when the MBTA, the MTA's successor, rebranded the subway passes as "CharlieCards."
In 1949, Charlie hopped onto a Boston subway car and never returned. He boarded at the Kendall Square station, but without an extra nickel (for the new exit fare), he couldn't get off the train. His journey "‘neath the streets of Boston" took him to the Scollay Square station, where his wife went every day to hand him a sandwich through the window as his train rumbled past.
Both stations still stand today, updated and renovated and, in the case of the Scollay Square station, renamed as Government Center.
"M.T.A was originally written for a candidate in Boston's 1949 mayoral election: Walter O'Brien, of the Progressive Party. O'Brien's campaign platform included a call to eliminate complicated exit fares on the MTA, the cause of Charlie's woe. The melody is from the folk song "Wreck of the Old 97," which was recorded in the 1920s and based on "The Ship That Never Returned," a folk song from the early 1800s, with a chorus remarkably similar to the "M.T.A" song.
Scollay Square station has been renamed Government Center. Photo by Manya Chylinski.
The Kingston Trio decided to record the song simply because they liked the sound of it. The group played in Boston during their heyday, and at least every couple of years since. This song remains a popular request at their concerts in Boston. At one concert in the 1980s, they sang it three times because of requests.
As for Charlie: He's still stuck on the subway. But he was honored in 2006 when the MBTA, the MTA's successor, rebranded the subway passes as "CharlieCards."
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