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Train songs, countdown and musical tastes

Train train, take me on out of this town. Man. There are a lot train songs I’m learning.

Catching regular blog readers up to date on a couple of things:

I first posted my train song list on my blog. Then I added some commentary and a concern and posted  my list  — same list –on AL.com.

In that last post I told readers I have been dissatisfied with my blog post list of train songs, namely the Grateful Dead’s ‘Casey Jones.’ Not a big Dead fan anyway,  and the performance by Jerry Garcia is lackluster and has ‘cocaine’ running all through it. So I made a call out for replacements. Based on emails, texts and comments from stories, here’s a list we can draw from to replace Casey Jones (unless there’s an outpouring of support for that Dead song?)

I am amazed at the quality and depth of the selections, these aren’t all of them, I had to do some pruning. But it is a good many.

I’m going to make the final decision, here are the suggestions and I will make a pick by the weekend.

  • “Love in Vain” Robert Johnson. The legendary blues guitarist who influenced Clapton and a legion of rock guitar slingers.
  • “Orange Blossom Special,” Johnny Cash.
  • Elizabeth Cotton or Pete Seeger, Freight Train. Cotton is an amazing woman. Check out this video.

  • Paul Simon’s “Train in the Distance.”
  • Aeorosmith “Train Kept a Rollin’ the rollicking  cover of old blues song, also done by the Yardbirds.
  • ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ by the Monkees.
  • The Nields’ “Train.” Leave it to my good friend Bob to come up with something I’ve never heard or heard of — and it’s a great piece by a female duo.
  • “Waitin’ for a Train” by Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, another legendary folk singer (complete with yodels).
  • “Peace Train” by Cat Stevens
  • City of New Orleans” The Arlo Guthriy version of the Steve Goodman song.
  • Syd Straw’s “The Train that Takes You Away.” Great, if not obscure, song.
  • Gary Clarke, Jr’s bluesy rocker, “When My Train Pulls In.” Audience loved him so much they serenaded him before  he launched in bluesy train song.

  • “Throw Mama From a Train — a Kiss a Kiss.” The Sandpipers. Funny funny. Thanks Marvin.
  • Nanci Griffith – 1) So Long Ago. 2) Southbound Train. Nanci has a few train songs in her and I like them all.
  • Janis Joplin – Me and Bobbi McGee. Um, this is possibly my favorite all time song. Not sure it’s a train song, though the protagonist is ‘headin’ for a train,  feeling nearly faded as my jeans.’ Kristofferson wrote. Found this video of an aging Kristofferson doing this — pretty amazing:

  • Eagles – Train Leaves Here This Morning – Pleasant. Not so sure the Dude would like it.
  • Gordon Lightfoot – Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Historic account of real event as Gordon liked to do.
  • Wreck of the Old 97. Classic country sung by Johnny Cash and  others.
  • Desperados waiting for a Train –Guy Clark (several other versions), including the aforementioned Nanci with Clark.
  • “The Train Song” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
  • Chattanooga Choo Choo —classic, written by a songwriting duo while on a train called the Birmingham Special. Would have been a slam dunk if they named it the Birmingham Choo Choo. (Or, perhaps, not)>
  • “The Locomotion” original by LIttle Eva, babysitter for Carole King. Later Grand Funk Railroad.
  • And one reader says it would be a ‘travesty’ to get rid of Grateful Dead entirely so the reader suggested Dead renditions of “Big Railroad Blues” or Willie Fuller’s “Beat It On Down the Line,” either his original or their cover of it.
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Top 10 train songs, dedicated to Railroad Park

So my idea about having a permanent children’s train ride at Railroad Park in Birmingham seems to have fizzled for now.

But it did make me think of train songs.

There’s a milion of them it seems and they are running around my brain.

Proposal to RR Park: I’ll be DJ and play my Top 10 choo choo songs (Plus my two honorable mentions if we have time). On vinyl. At the park.

So, dedicated to Railroad Park,  sponsored by myvinylcountdown.com, here are my top 10 train songs. Plus two honorable mentions. I am judging these on a complicated formula that involves how much endorphins are created  in my brain as I listen to each song.

Now, with the brain monitor hooked up, here we go:

 Honorable Mention: Stoney Larue. “Train to Birmingham”

We’ll start you off with an Honorable  Mention. New song it may crack the list with a little more  time. JA introduced this one to me. Has crying, lying, dying and Birmingham, oh, and a guitar full of blues. Great song. The studio version has a little sad sounding fiddle.

10: Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train”

I know i’t old school heavy metal, but I like it, like it, yes I do.

 

9: Cracker “I See the Light”

Not really thought of as a train song but it is in a punch line sort of way. I just like this song. And if you listen you’ll see why I picked it.

8: Grateful Dead: Casey Jones

Classic, but not at the top of my train list.

7: Creedence Clearwater Revival. “Midnight Special”

CCR didn’t have many, if any, bad songs. This train song was one great one.

6: “People Get Ready (There’s a train a-coming)” Curtis Mayfield/ Impressions

I do love it when Rod Stewart sings this song but I have to give this to the original. 

But Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions are hard to beat. Here’s Curtis by himself with guitar, beautiful.

5: Blackfoot. “Train Train”

I saw them live years ago and this was the only song I remember. (Maybe it was the only song they played.) If your kids aren’t head banging after Ozzy, they will be by this one.

4: This Train Is Bound For Glory”- Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe – The Old Crow Medicine Show

Good time video almost pushed this higher. Lots of granola and moonshine for this crunchy group of hippie/ roots rockers on a classic, train bound for glory.

3: Bob Dylan. “Slow Train Coming”

Just a good song. Underrated Dylan. Good live version. Alabama angle:

I had a woman out in Alabama, She’s a backwoods girl but she sure was realistic

She said, boy, without a doubt, you got to kick your mess and straighten out, you could die down here, just be another accident statistic

2: Gladys Knight and the Pips. “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

‘I’d rather live in his world than live without him in mine.’ Enough said.

1 (Tie): Johnny Cash. “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Yes, I  copped out and have two as my No. 1. A tie. But I got to those last two and they are such great train songs which  by definition must have a train-whistle ache about them.  After doing this, I looked back and realized I don’t have ‘Peace Train’ by Cat Stevens or some other popular choices for train songs (e.g. Last Train to Clarksville)

But when it came to final two, I could not choose between them. Cop out, yes. But you tell me what to cut. Nevermind, I know which one it will be.

Anyway, it should not be this Cash song. You could do a whole top 10 train songs by Cash alone. And this song might arguably be called a prison song. However, I say, this has one of the most recognizable openings of any train song ever. “I hear the train a coming, it’s coming around the bend.”   The train where people are in fancy dining cars, he laments,  reminds him every day of his lost freedom.

 

1 (Tie)_ Peter Paul and Mary. “500 Miles”

Shuddup. I will defend this No. 1 pick to the ends of the earth or at least 500 miles.

Here is my other honorable mention:  Runaway Train by Soul Asylum and I was considering Clash “Train in Vain,”  then I realized that except in the title, there’s no train a-comin’ in the lyrics. In fact, no train at all unless I’m missing something.