If you are looking for train songs, add Gordon Lightfoot to your list, plus on the jazz side Oscar Peterson's Canadiana Suite (his father was a train porter).

After all, Canada is a country which exists because of a railroad, it was one of the key reasons for Confederation in 1867.

Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train" is pretty hard to beat. There are a ton of great blues train songs, including Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain," which the Stones didn't do a shabby job of on Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out.

And I knew it was by Steve Goodman, by the way, an excellent Chicago singer-songwriter who died young of cancer - it sucked.

What about "Take the 'A' Train"? The Clifford Brown/Max Roach version even starts off with a musical imitation of a train.

Doesn't Bowie's "TVC 15" start off with train noise building into a rhythm?

Gladys Knight - Midnight Train to Georgia

Other than that....

Guns N' Roses - Night Train?

Whiskey Train by Procul Harum, Robin Trower playing a nasty guitar.

"Night Train" by James Brown, of course

I nominate "Midnight Train," featuring the magificient Buddy Guy and the superb Jonny Lang . Can't touch that!

"Train Wreck" was a favorite with my Jazz Band class, although I don't recall ever seeing the sheet music to it. The teacher never let us finish it, either.

And then there's the Clash's... Never mind, that's about something else.

Blackfoot's "Train Train" from Strikes. It might date me a bit, but man did I love that when I was 16!

The Band's "Mystery Train", especially the live version on The Last Waltz, with Paul Butterfield's wistful, longing blues harp sound soooo trainlike.

Some of my favorites:

"Train of Fools" by Aretha Franklin

"Untrained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers (RIP, Bobby)

"Who'll Stop the Train" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

re 9 by Mac Diva -
I think Jonny Lang needs to spend 20 years on the road, eating lukewarm meals in cheesy diners and living out of rat-infested motels and boarding houses to get the same kind of blues soul as the true greats he imitates. You wanna sound like the masters, gotta live like 'em. I'm sure he'd disagree with the 20 years of lousy living part.

That said, he wields a mean axe. I just think his vocals have a ways to go before he can be ranked with the Muddys, B.B.'s, Slowhands and Willie Dixons (not to mention several hundred others).

Don't forget Bruce Cockburn's "Night Train." Not a cover of the Guns N Roses song. Great driving, chugging tune, too.

Tal, Jonny has a great mentor. It is amazing to have been taken under the wing of Buddy Guy as a snot-nosed kid. I hope the lil' whippersnapper appreciates his good fortune.

MD, Buddy paid his dues, along with all the other blues greats through the years. I think it's fantastic that Mr. Guy (I feel uncomfortable calling him Buddy) has blessed this kid with his wisdom and experience, in the same way that Ted Williams blessed Tony Gwynn with his own. Tony turned out all right (best career batting average since Ted himself) and I hope Jonny does the same in his field. I'm simply stating that he hasn't proven himself to me yet (not that he gives a rat's tail if he ever proves himself to me).

Whitney Houston had a great voice when she first appeared on the scene - but did she compare, in those early years, to the world-class divas who came before (Ella, Etta, Billie, Sarah, et al)? Of course not. All I'm saying is that Jonny has a difficult road to walk before he gets to the place he wants to go.

Don't forget "Night Train" from Rickie Lee Jones' classic eponymous debut album, about a single mother fleeing from welfare agents who want to take her baby.

Not every train song has the word train in the title.

What about "Lucitania Express" by Gillan, or "5:15" by The Who?

what, no "Chattanooga Choo-Choo"?

Doobie Brothers: "Long Train Runnin'"

Pat Metheny: "Last Train Home"

Cream: "Traintime"

Beatles: "One After 909"

Blue Oyster Cult: "Hot Rails To Hell"

"Casey Junior" from Dumbo

Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath"

Saxon's "Princess of the Night"

Who was it that did a song called "Deltics"?


I can also think of several albums with trains on the cover artwork, most notably Phil Manzenra's "Diamond Head" and Blur's "Modern Life is Rubbish".

I would like to propose an addition to this list--it's an incredible song--but I cannot find an artist or title. It's playing on our local Christian station now, as they're doing all Christmas music. It's a spoken-word song--the speaker sounds like Keith Carradine, so help me--and he is riding a train at night, in a car containing himself, a sleeping passenger, and a mother & baby. He begins to reminisce about warm, gentle-but-not-treacly Christmases past with his family; coming back to reality, he is inspired to hold (and thus keep warm) the mother & child. I'm doing it no justice here--I will not let anyone make a peep when it comes on. Familiar?

Tthe Train=Geoffrey Lewis father of Juliette Lewis