Train Songs

Yesterday, I was listening to a song that I love, and then I took a shower. (That's where I get most of my ideas.) So, I thought that there are a lot of great songs about trains. Why not do a little story about train songs? While I was showering, I had already thought of of about 30. Then I sat down and did a little research and realized that there were hundreds, if not thousands of those. I chose a lot for this story, and still managed to leave out more than 200 from my personal collection alone. So, today we'll have a few words and many great songs, which cover many decades, and even more genres of music. Let's get on with it.

This is the song that motivated this story; the Rock classic Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull:

Going back in time, here's a song written in the 1920s. This version of This Train (Is Bound For Glory) by Sister Rosetta Tharpe was recorded in 1939:

30 years later, Sandy Denny gave us her own great version:

Bound For Glory was used as the title of the Woody Guthrie biopic in 1976. Here is Woody himself with Train 45:

Here's another song from the 1920s: Honky Tonk Train Blues by Meade Lux Lewis:

I do pay serious attention to your comments; good friend of this blog and frequent commenter Alan has suggested a number of songs in the comments. Although I have already stated that this list is not all-inclusive, there are two songs that he suggested that I felt had to be part of the main story, so here they are: Firts is Glenn Miller's exquisite Swing number, a smash hit of the 40s called Chattanooga Choo Choo:

The second song is by Country giant Hank Williams. I had already included his song Freight Train Blues in our list, but then again I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (1949) is a much better song, even if the train is in the lyrics rather than in the title. Thanks for both, Alan!

Irving Berlin wrote When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves For Alabama and Fred Astaire & Judy Garland sang it in Easter Parade (1948):

Not much later, Peggy Lee gave us Waiting For The Train To Come In:

Take The 'A' Train was an absolute Jazz classic for Duke Ellington and his Orchestra:

And here's the fabulous Ella Fitzgerald with her version:

Another absolute Jazz classic is 1958's Blue Train, by John Coltrane:

Mystery Train was written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953:

But it was Elvis' version, two years later, which made the song part of our collective subconscious:

Round about that time, Joe Turner released Midnight Special Train:

In 1957 Chuck Berry released Downbound Train:

In 1960, Muddy Waters gave us Southbound Train:

One of the most recorded song about trains is Five Hundred Miles. Here's Kingston Trio's version:

Two Trains Running by Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis was recorded in the early 60s:

The Yardbirds, with Jeff Beck on lead guitar, recorded Train Kept A Rollin' in 1965:

This is another of Alan's suggestions that should be part of the list: Casey Jones by the Grateful Dead:

... While the Yardbirds' former lead guitarist, Eric Clapton, was riding high with his new band, Cream, when they recorded Train Time in 1968:

Bob Dylan sang about trains a lot: in 1965 came It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry:

... And in 1979 came Slow Train Coming:

Back in the 60s, with one of the most popular duos of the decade, Peter & Gordon, sung Freight Train:

The most popular duo of the 60s would have to be Simon & Garfunkel though. In Homeward Bound, the singer is sitting in a railway station:

The Kinks gave us one of their best songs, Waterloo Sunset, which is about the Waterloo train station in London. We've played that when we did their story. We didn't play, however, The Last Of The Steam Powered Trains (1968):

A couple of years earlier, the Monkees exploded to international superstardom. Their debut single (and their first US #1) was Last Train To Clarksville:

Another great Pop group of the 60s were the Box Tops, with Alex Chilton on lead vocals. Here they are with their 1968 hit Choo Choo Train:

The Box Tops also recorded Trains And Boats And Planes, the Bacharach-David classic. We will not hear their version, nor the original, sung by Bacharach himself. Let's listen to Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas' version instead, from 1965:

... Naturally, it was also recorded (in 1966) by the Bacharach-David muse, Dionne Warwick:

Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas' manager was Brian Epstein, who was also manager to the Beatles. Kansas City (which included the lyrics "Well I might take a train, I might take a plane") was a particular favorite of theirs. Here they are, in 1964:

... And here's the original by Wilbert Harrison (1959):

Another great group from the 60s were Paul Revere & The Raiders. Here they are with Night Train:

The Classics IV (featuring Dennis Yost) also originate from the 60s. Soul Train is their own train song:

The train was a favorite image in the Ska/Reggae mythology; it has been featured in many songs. First, the hit Train To Skaville by The Ethiopians:

Reggae giant Bob Marley & The Wailers had more than one. Here's Stop That Train (1973):

... And here's Zion Train (1980):

Ken Boothe recorded The Train Is Coming in 1966:

Dennis Brown gave us Westbound Train:

... While the Pyramids released Train Tour To Rainbow City in 1967:

40s and 50s legend Frankie Laine had a number of train hits. There was Mule Train:

... And there was The 3:10 to Yuma:

The 3:10 to Yuma was also recorded by Sandy Denny and Johnny Silvo (a poignant version):

One of my favorite train songs is the epic Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot (1966). It's a pity that they don't allow the original version to exist on youtube. This is a live version from 1972:

Johnnie Cash also loved trains. Here's Train Of Love:

Another great music man who loved trains was Lee Hazlewood. Here he is with Long Black Train (1963):

... And here he is with No Train To Stockholm (1970):

Tony Joe White recorded The Train I'm On:

Here's a train from the 21st century. Long Black Train (2002) by Josh Turner:

Back to the 70s (1971), and here is a small masterpiece by Cat Stevens called Peace Train:

Further back, in 1968, we find Diana Ross & The Supremes with How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone:

6 years earlier, James Brown gave us Night Train:

This is another song that Alan's helped me remember: People Get Ready (1965) by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions:

While in 1971, the Undisputed Truth recorded Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) Friendship Train:

A few months later a Soul masterpiece by the O'Jays was released: here's Love Train:

Soon after another Soul masterpiece was released: Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight & The Pips:

Another Soul legend, Al Green, introduced Back Up Train in his debut album (1967):

A pre-fame Janis Joplin recorded Zip Train (219 Train) in 1965:

Another favorite song of mine, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, begins with the verse:

Virgil Caine is the name

And I served on the Danville train

'Till Stoneman's cavalry came

And tore up the tracks again

This is the original by The Band (1969):

... And this is Joan Baez's successful cover version from 1971:

We've listened to a couple of Canada's best artists: The Band and Gordon Lightfoot. Here's another great one: Joni Mitchell singing Just Like This Train (1974):

A lady that was greatly influenced by Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, included Night Train in her 1979 debut album:

10 years later, she recorded Ghost Train:

Gone Dead Train was in Crazy Horse's debut album from 1971:

Velvet Underground's Loaded (1970), included Train Round The Bend. This is an alternate mix:

A year earlier, Mountain gave us Southbound Train:

Here's another great train song: Long Train Runnin' by the Doobie Brothers (1973):

From the same year, here are the Rolling Stones and Silver Train:

Also from that great year, one of my all-time favorites: the Who's 5:15.

The great Jimi Hendrix gave us Hear My Train A Comin':

Chris Rea released Steam Train Blues in 2005:

Gone Dead Train was included in the Performance (1970) soundtrack. It's one of the early Randy Newman songs:

Let's get poppier: here's Cher in the mid 70s with Train of Thought:

The Shocking Blue's Venus wasn't their only great song. Never Marry A Railroad Man was another:

Abba gave us Another Town, Another Train a year before Eurovision and Waterloo:

I'm A Train (1974) was one of Albert Hammond's best songs:

Last Train To London was one of Electric Light Orchestra's big hits:

One Way Ticket was the B-side to Neil Sedaka's first US Top 10, Oh! Carol (1959):

... It was also a Disco hit for Eruption:

Mink DeVille gave us 'A' Train Lady:

While Punk pioneers the Clash released their classic Train In Vain in 1979:

Then came the 80s, and the Cure recorded Jumping Someone Else's Train:

Sheena Easton hit #1 in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand with Morning Train. It went to #2 in Ireland, #3 in the UK and Switzerland, and #4 in Belgium.

A-Ha had a hit with Train of Thought in 1985:

Bowie have 3 songs that mention trains or stations. Young Americans mentions Soul Train, but since that's about the TV show rather than a train, and since we presented the song before (see Bowie Bonus), we're not playing it today. We are playing, however, Station To Station (1976):

... As well as 5.15 The Angels Have Gone (live, 2002):

Meanwhile back, the New York Dolls rode the Subway Train:

While AC/DC preferred the Rock N Roll Train:

... And the Gun Club rode a Black Train:

My favorite Australian, Nick Cave, gave us Train Long-Suffering in his 2nd LP:

... While one of my favorite Americans, Bruce Springsteen recorded Downbound Train for his iconic Born In The USA LP:

CCR's leader John Fogerty came up with Big Train (From Memphis) at around the same time:

Don McLean was still active in 1988, when he recorded You Can't Blame The Train:

Robyn Hitchcock gave us I Often Dream Of Trains:

Love Like A Train was by Howe Gelb's Giant Sand:

Downtown Train had two great versions: the original, by Tom Waits:

... And the hit version by Rod Stewart:

One of the best train songs is Runaway Train by Soul Asylum:

Here's Death Of A Train by Daniel Lanois (1993):

Elton John couldn't be absent from this party. This Train Don't Stop There Anymore was released in 2002:

George Michael is also here too, with Cars and Trains:

Seattle's the Walkabouts covered Mikis Theodorakis' The Train Leaves At Eight:

... And here's one of the first Greek versions, sung by Manolis Mitsias (Μανώλης Μητσιάς):

Here's Groovy Train by the Farm:

A Britpop 90s classic is The Day We Caught The Train by Ocean Colour Scene:

In 2004 R.E.M. gave us High Speed Train:

In 2005 the Bright Eyes released Train Under Water:

Here are Ryan Adams & The Cardinals with Trains, live in 2006:

Here's Stop This Train by John Mayer:

Here's Crash This Train by Joshua James:

Here's Train Song by Feist & Ben Gibbard:

Now here are some train songs from non-English-speaking countries. We've already listened to a Greek recording of The Train Leaves At Eight. Here's The Trains That Have Left (Τα Τραίνα Που 'Φύγαν) by Vicky Moskoliou (Βίκυ Μοσχολιού):

From the Netherlands, we've already heard the Shocking Blue. Here are the Nits with The Train:

From Germany, one of the greatest groups of the 70s, Kraftwerk, gave us Trans Europa Express:

From Italy, here's Riccardo Cocciante with Il Treno:

From French-speaking Canada, here's Le Train by Vilain Pingouin:

From France, here's Le Train Du Nord by Félix Leclerc:

From El Salvador, here's El Tren by Los Tachos:

From Brazil, here a cover of Five Hundred Miles, called Quinentas Mais, by Ze Renato & Claudio Nucci:

Finally, as a thank you to Alan, here's a train song written and performed by him. And it's a great one too! Here's Out Pargeter Way:

I know that I left out a lot, but the ones I included were too many to begin with. If I left out one of your favorites, please say so in the comments. I hope that you've enjoyed this train journey. Travel with us again soon!