On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.[1] The song was published in 1944, spanned the hit chart in mid-1945, and won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Original Song,[1] the first win for Mercer.[2] The song refers to the famous eponymous fallen flag railroad, and was featured in the 1946 Western film, The Harvey Girls, (about the famous 19th century nation-wide railroad lines of chain restaurants of Harvey Houses, established by entrepreneur Fred Harvey, 1835-1901). It was sung by Judy Garland (1922-1969), with support from cast actors Ben Carter, Marjorie Main, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and the MGM Studios Chorus.[1] At one point in mid-1945, versions by Mercer, Bing Crosby, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra were on the hit chart simultaneously. In late September, the Crosby version, first to make the chart, was joined by one by Judy Garland and the Merry Macs close-harmony back-up group (1920s to 2000). Mercer said that the lyrics came to him when he was sitting on a Union Pacific Railroad train and saw another train labeled "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe'", and he was struck by the rhythm of the words.[2][3] Despite mentions in the poetically lyrics of the song written by Johnny Mercer, the A.T.& S.F. never directly reached north to Laramie, Wyoming (actually served by the transcontinental line of the Union Pacific Railroad) or to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (served in reality by the Reading Company, Pennsylvania Railroad or Baltimore & Ohio Railroad lines in the the East). Recorded versions
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