The woman famous for that fingering style was Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten — a folksinger best known for the song “Freight Train,” written in 1904 when she was just 11 years old. Cotten’s ...

Look closely at Libba Cotten’s 1950 Martin guitar ... By 12, she had written “Freight Train,” a lilting song that movingly captures the sense of liberation that trains symbolized for ...

“Freight train, freight train ... through her unique picking into something immortal. When Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten was around 8 years old, she would slip into her older brother’s room ...