trivia songs that mention trains/ railways

[Rescars]

Fans of Dad's Army will recall that:

Mr Brown goes off to town
On the eight twenty one,
But he comes home each evening
And he's ready with his gun!

 

[Hellzapoppin]

Lonesome train. Johnny Brunette
This train. Big Bill Broonzy
Freight train boogie. Louvin Brothers.
Freight train. Larry Hart
Love train. Jackie Wilson

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

"Trenulețul" by Zdob și Zdub and Frații Advahov.

The song talks about an energetic and happy train ride between the capitals of Moldova and Romania, Chișinău and Bucharest, respectively. According to the band, the music video that was released for the song was coincided with the reopening of a train route between the two cities.

Trenulețul - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[12C]

"Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat is about a gay teenager who runs away to London by train:

(Can someone identify the rolling stock used here?)

It’s a Class 210 DEMU

 

[Bevan Price]

Hope this link works, but we had a similar forum thread a few years ago (in General Discussion)

Railway Related Music/Songs

A question which has posed on my mind for quite time: what are the tracks which remind you of / IYO suit the railway? Whether they are songs that you may listen whilst on a HST at 100mph, or just remind you our network, I'm intrigued to know. My 4 tracks would be The King and All of His Men...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Ashley Hill]

Trans Europe Express - Kraftwerk

 

[DaleCooper]

Cat Stevens - Matthew and Son

Up at 8:00, you can't be late
For Matthew & Son, he won't wait
Watch them run down to platform one
And the 8:30 train to Matthew & Son

 

[Ashley Hill]

Moskow Diskow by Telex refers to railways and features such in their video.
Station to Station by David Bowie.
Last Train to Clarksville- The Monkeys

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Songs that were going around in my childhood:

The Little Engine That Could by Burl Ives

Freight Train by Nancy Whiskey with the Chas. McDevitt Skiffle Group

Six-Five Special by Don Lang & His Frantic Five (theme song of the TV programme)

In the Middle of the House by Alma Cogan and others:

'The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The trains all come through the middle of the house
Since the company bought the land'

 

[Ashley Hill]

Long Train Running by the Doobie Brothers

(Waiting for the) Ghost Train by Madness

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Tren Bach yr Sgwarnogod (Little Train of the Hares) by Bob Delyn:

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Last Train to San Fernando by Johnny Duncan & His Bluegrass Boys:

'If you miss this one you'll never get another one...'

 

[Flange Squeal]

Does "Up the Junction" (Squeeze) count?
"We spent our time just kissing
The Railway Arms we're missing
But love had got us hooked up
And all our time it took up"

Squeeze also had a song called 'Electric Trains' which contains the lyrics:

"I was out of my head and underneath my bed playing with electric trains"

Another Squeeze song was 'Third Rail' which contains the lyrics:

"Our love's still on track but without a third rail", "But can our love go on without a third rail", "Without a third rail to drive us we'll have no place to go" and "We kiss on the platform the doors slowly close like theatre curtains pulled after the show"

 

[Western 52]

Morningtown Ride- The Seekers

 

[Harvester]

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches,
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.

Robert Louis Stevenson

 

[PlatformEdgeVT]

Every Tube Station Song by Jay Foreman

 

[Royston Vasey]

I rewatched BBC Railwatch from 1989 on YouTube (which by the way exhibited a high standard of reporting, journalism and attention to detail that is sadly lacking from any recent main channel railway programmes in decades!)

In episode 4 Mike Smith reports live from Leeds Station and completely destroys the poor station manager who is made to apologise for every complaint of lateness, dirtiness and unexplained cancellations.

Anyway, they play a montage of the morning commute in and out of Leeds to Elton John's lesser known "Passengers" which is actually a contemporary commentary on South African apartheid.

The cheery riff plays over clips of 150s and Pacers disgorging passengers.

"Deny the passenger, Who wanna get on"

The lyrics...

Company conductor
You need the salt of tears
Falling on a ticket
That no one's used in years

...don't refer to a Teesside Airport to Berney Arms day return, as you'd expect.

 

[nr758123]

Last Train tae Glasgow Central by Billy Connolly

Last Train Tae Glasgow Central
Last Train Tae Glasgow Central
You better catch this one.
And you better have a ticket 'cos here's the man
BiddieBiddiebumbum - to Glasgow central

We had a great time. You couldnae wack it
Spent aw ma money, and pawned ma jacket
And on the train, gain hame, i was hidin' in the lavi when the ticket man came
biddiebiddiebellbum - To Glasgow central

Last Train Tae Glasgow Central
Last Train Tae Glasgow Central
You better catch this one.
And you better have a ticket 'cos here's the man
BiddieBiddiebumbum - To Glasgow central

National S***e Day by Half Man Half Biscuit, which references a rail replacement bus and for some reason reminds me of Barnsley Interchange

Pulling the ice axe from my leg I staggered on
Spindrift stinging my remaining eye
I finally managed to reach the station
Only to find that the bus replacement service had broken down

After wondering to myself whether or not it should actually be called a train replacement service
I walked out onto the concourse and noticed the giant screen seemed to have been tampered with
Probably by a junior employee
Disgruntled commuters were being regaled with some dismal TVM

Justified and Ancient by the KLF featuring Tammy Wynette

They're Justified, and they're Ancient,
And they drive an ice cream van.
They're Justified and they're Ancient,
With still no master plan.
The last train left an hour ago,
They were singing "All aboard"
All bound for Mu Mu Land,
Then someone starting screaming "Turn up the Strobe"

London Underground by the Amateur Transplants. Copying the lyrics here would earn me a ban.

 

[John Palmer]

Songs from Don Bilston's "Farewell to Steam".

Trotting 'em north on a bow-legged engine
If you fire a Caprotti get a cast iron back
Sparks as big as oranges coming out the front end
Aye lad, that's the way

 

[WesternLancer]

Night Train by Visage

Rock Island Line by Lonnie Donegan (and others)

Worried Man Blues also by Lonnie D (“the train that I ride is 21 coaches long”)

World at Large Alone by Stephen ‘tin tin’ Duffy (“new street train at platform 8”)

 

[satisnek]

Years ago I did a trilogy of hospital radio programmes entitled 'Trains And Boats And Planes' (Bacharach/David) followed by 'Cars' (Gary Numan), because I do like four-part trilogies!

I can't remember what I played but I think I started the first one with 'I'm A Train' by Albert Hammond and I do remember that I finished it with Last Trains To Clarksville, San Fernando and London.

 

[Trainguy34]

Suprised no ones mentioned the, albeit tenuous, song of Don't stop Believin' by Journey

Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere

Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches,
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.

Robert Louis Stevenson

I thought that was just a poem?

 

[JGurney]

Last train up Rosedale - Stanley Accrington

08:15 all stations Manchester to Hazel Grove
(parody of 'The Orange Blossom Special') - Les Barker

Leaf on the Line (parody of Slip Sliding Away) - Les Barker

The Runaway Train

Train to Budapest

 

[Flange Squeal]

Anyway, they play a montage of the morning commute in and out of Leeds to Elton John's lesser known "Passengers" which is actually a contemporary commentary on South African apartheid.

That's just made me think of another Elton song, 'This train don't stop there anymore'

 

[Merthyr Imp]

How could we forget:

Oh! Mr Porter

And another music hall song:

Give me a ticket to heaven.

Sung by a child who thinks her father has been killed in an accident - 'he's booked for heaven, poor old Dick'

'Give me a ticket to heaven
That's where dad's gone they say
He'll be so lonely without me, traveling all that way
Mother died when I was born sir and left dad and me all alone
So give me a ticket to Heaven please before the last train is gone'

 

[D6130]

Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel. There are a number of candidates for where the idea for the song first came to Paul Simon: Warrington Bank Quay is his recollection.

The commemorative blue plaque on the wall of the station building is at Widnes.

 

[JGurney]

Sally MacLennane - The Pouges

We walked him to the station in the rain
We kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

 

[Merthyr Imp]

The idiot who, in railway carriages,
Scribbles on window-panes
We only suffer
To ride on a buffer
In Parliamentary trains.
(Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado)

For you dream you are crossing the Channel, and tossing about in a steamer from Harwich –
Which is something between a large bathing machine and a very small second-class carriage –
And you're giving a treat (penny ice and cold meat) to a party of friends and relations –
They're a ravenous horde – and they all came on board at Sloane Square and South Kensington Stations.

(Also G&S, the Nightmare Song from Iolanthe)

And some obscure Gilbert & Sullivan, from Thespis, although the music is lost, which includes:

'I once knew a chap who discharged a function on the North-South-East-West Diddlesex Junction.
He tipped all the guards with brand-new fivers
and sang little songs to the engine drivers.'

 

[JGurney]

Left, left, right, steady man - Keith Marsden

Left, left, right, steady man, go round again
The war finished last week, he's tunneling again
He's still down there, we're all catching a train.