“Down in the Creek” is a folk song written by Todd DeFeo about the Budds Creek railroad disaster of July 28, 1869.
It was originally recorded for an unrealized project of songs about several historic railroads and the subjects of DeFeo-penned books.
Several demos of the song were recorded in February 2019, and it was first performed on March 24, 2019, at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Georgia. A version recorded on October 15, 2019, was partially included in a Railfanning.org podcast released on July 28, 2021.
A version recorded on July 28, 2020, was released on 12 Tracks in April 2021. A live version recorded on August 2, 2020, at the Southeastern Railway Museum was released on A Guy Walks Into a Train Museum in December 2020.
Known Recordings
| February 10, 2019 | Take 1 |
| February 10, 2019 | Take 2 |
| February 10, 2019 | Take 3 |
| February 10, 2019 | Take 4 |
| February 12, 2019 | Sketch take |
| February 12, 2019 | Take 1 |
| February 12, 2019 | Take 2 |
| February 12, 2019 | Take 3 |
| February 12, 2019 | Take 4 |
| February 12, 2019 | Take 5 |
| February 13, 2019 | Take 1 |
| February 13, 2019 | Take 2 |
| February 13, 2019 | Take 3 (incomplete) |
| February 13, 2019 | Take 4 |
| February 26, 2019 | Take 1 |
| February 26, 2019 | Take 2 |
| March 24, 2019 | Rehearsal (possibly misdated) |
| October 15, 2019 | Partially included in a Railfanning.org podcast released on July 28, 2021. |
| December 24, 2019 | |
| July 28, 2020 | Released on 12 Tracks in April 2021 |