I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, right in the middle of the Rust Belt.
The Rust Belt is the part of the United States that was once the industrial heartland of the country but experienced significant economic decline starting in the latter half of the 20th century, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s. This decline was largely due to the loss of manufacturing jobs, deindustrialization, outsourcing, and the automation of industry.
The term “Rust Belt” alludes to the economic “rusting” or decay of the region’s industrial core. Ya know, machines rust when not used.
My hometown in particular was home to an abandoned International Harvester plant. It was on the other side of town from where I grew up, but the home my father lived in when he passed was in the neighborhood that grew up to service that plant.
One of the primary sounds I used to hear at all hours of the night and day was trains.
I’d hearing the squealing of trains braking. I’d hear the tooting horns.
It was very comforting, even the sound of metal on metal grating, which might otherwise be unpleasant.
These were never loud, sounds I could hear in the distance.
It was a common theme in my Life Toward Twilight recordings, going back to my very early days, in 1999 when I started recording as Life Toward Twilight.
I used train sounds on nearly every album I released. It was an integral part of “I Swear By All The Flowers“.
I moved to Arizona back in 2012. I moved rural in 2014 and got some chickens. I can’t hear any trains where I’m at. I can hear airplanes flying over head.
But my “home” sound is now crowing roosters. My flock is smaller now than it was a few years back, but I still have six dudes back there crowing.
I note this because I’m working on recordings, and needless to say, roosters will be in the background.