As the story begins, it's 1904 in North Carolina, a time when horse-drawn wagons still plod dusty streets, and middle-aged Civil War veterans can be seen strolling through shady parks on Sunday afternoons. In a small yellow house near the railroad tracks, a remarkable eleven-year-old  African-American girl named Elizabeth is learning how to play the guitar in her own, unique way and is about  to write a special song - "Freight Train" - that will become a folk classic half a century later.