song "Charlie on the MTA"
E17393
"Charlie on the MTA" is a mid-20th-century folk song about a man trapped riding Boston’s subway because he cannot pay the exit fare, and has become a cultural icon associated with the city’s transit system.
Observed surface forms (3)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Charlie on the MTA | 0 |
| "Charlie on the MTA" | 1 |
| Charlie on the MTA song | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
American folk song
ⓘ
folk song ⓘ song ⓘ |
| associatedLocation |
Boston subway
ⓘ
MBTA ⓘ
surface form:
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system
|
| associatedWith |
Boston, Massachusetts
ⓘ
surface form:
Boston
Boston’s transit system ⓘ MBTA ⓘ
surface form:
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
|
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| culturalImpact |
became a cultural icon associated with Boston’s transit system
ⓘ
popularized the story of a rider unable to pay an exit fare ⓘ |
| describes | fare policies on Boston’s subway ⓘ |
| describesFictionalEvent | man unable to leave subway due to unpaid exit fare ⓘ |
| genre |
folk
ⓘ
political song ⓘ protest song ⓘ |
| hasCharacter | Charlie ⓘ |
| hasCulturalRole |
symbol of Boston commuter experience
ⓘ
unofficial anthem of Boston transit ⓘ |
| hasForm | strophic song ⓘ |
| hasImagery |
endless ride through subway stations
ⓘ
family bringing food to stranded rider ⓘ |
| hasMotif |
being trapped in transit
ⓘ
fare collection ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
bureaucratic absurdity
ⓘ
economic hardship ⓘ public transit access ⓘ social commentary ⓘ |
| hasTitleCharacter | Charlie ⓘ |
| inspiredBy | subway exit fare requirement ⓘ |
| intendedMessage | critique of transit fare policies ⓘ |
| isPartOf | American folk music tradition ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
Boston subway
ⓘ
MBTA ⓘ
surface form:
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
public transportation fares ⓘ |
| medium | music ⓘ |
| narrativeFocus | man trapped on subway train ⓘ |
| notableFor |
depiction of endless subway ride
ⓘ
refrain asking if Charlie ever returned ⓘ |
| originalPurpose | political campaign song ⓘ |
| plotSummary | A man named Charlie becomes trapped riding Boston’s subway because he cannot pay the exit fare ⓘ |
| setting |
Boston subway system
ⓘ
Boston, Massachusetts ⓘ |
| targetAudience | general public ⓘ |
| timePeriod | mid-20th century ⓘ |
| usedAs | reference in discussions of transit fares ⓘ |
| workType | narrative song ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Charlie on the MTA song