"Swannanoa Tunnel", also known as "Ashville Junction" is a work song coming from the construction of the tunnel east of Ashville, North Carolina. It was constructed between 1877 and 1879. A book entitled The French Broad (1955) by Wilma Dykeman details the history of the region near the French Broad River, near Ashville. The development of road crews was largely driven by a desire to solve prison overcrowding and to find cheap labor to build the railroad. The vast majority of these prisoners were African-American and none of them had committed a violent crime. African American men generally made up about 90% of the convict work force and white men 6%; African American women made up the remaining 4%, generally providing for food, cleaning, and other supporting services. It was cheaper for the state to put the prisoners to work in western North Carolina than imprison them to the east. It is related to "Nine Pound Hammer", and other blues influenced work songs. In spite of the lyric of the first verse, the tunnel did not cave in. The song has been recorded by many singers including Bascom Lamar Lunsford. I can't remember where I learned it.