Train Song

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

Well, I broke down in East St. Louis(2), on the Kansas City line
Drunk up all of my money, that I borrowed every time
And I fell down at the Derby, the night's as black as a crow
It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

What made my dreams so hollow, was standin' at the depot
With a steeple full of swallows, that could never ring a bell(3)
And I've come ten thousand miles away, with not one thing to show
It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

Well, I remember when I left, without botherin' to pack
Don't you know I up and left, with just the clothes I had on my back
Now I'm so sorry for what I've done, and I'm out here on my own
It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home
It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), © 1986-1987
Official release: Frank's Wild Years, Island Records Inc., 1987
Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)
Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play



Train Song

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Well, I broke down in East St. Louis(2), on the Kansas City line
And I drunk up all of my money, that I borrowed every time
And I fell down at the Derby, now the night's as black as a crow
Must've been a train that took me away from here
But a train can't bring me home

What made my dreams so hollow, I was standin' at the depot
With a steeple full of swallows, that could never ring a bell(3)
Oh, I've come ten thousand miles away, and I ain't got one thing to show
Must've been a train took me away from here
But a train can't bring me home

Well, I remember when I left, without botherin' to pack
You know I up and left, with nothin' but the clothes I had on my back
Now I'm so sorry for what I've done, and I'm out here on my own
Must've been a train that took me away from here
But a train can't bring me home
It must've been a train that took me away from here
But a train can't bring me, can't bring me home

Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), © 1986-1987-1988
Official release: "Big Time", © Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988
Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)
Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play
Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:
Temptation. Holly Cole, 1995. Blue Note Records/ Capital (Japan/ USA)
Eyes And Ears. Bim Skala Bim. January, 1995. Bib Records
It Happened One Night. Holly Cole. June, 1995. Blue Note Records (Japan: 1995, USA/ EMD: 1996)
Nomad. Polarity Percussion Ensemble with John Kenny & David Moss. 1997. Self-released
Promised Land. The Holmes Brothers. January, 1997. Rounder Records
Collection. Holly Cole Trio. September, 1998. EMI (Australia)
Righteous: The Essential Collection. Holmes Brothers. July 16, 2002. Rounder/ Pgd (same version as on "Promised Land", 1997)
Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)
The Best Of Holly Cole. Holly Cole. November, 2000. Blue Note Records
The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)
Train Songs. Spring String Quartet. 2002. CCn'C Records


Listen to audio excerpt of Train Song as performed in the theatre play Frank's Wild Years.
The Briar Street Theatre (Steppenwolf Theatre Company). Chicago/ USA. June 17, 1986.
Ripped from low resolution audience tape


Waits performing "Train Song" taken from the Big Time concert video.
Recorded live at the Wiltern Theatre. Los Angeles/ USA. November 9, 1987.
PolyGram Video (Island Visual Arts)/ Fries Home Video (Fries Entertainment Inc.), 1988.
With: Michael Blair, Ralph Carney, Greg Cohen, Marc Ribot and Willy Schwarz.
Stage show concept: Kathleen Brennan & Tom Waits. Directed by Chris Blum.

Notes:

(1) Train Song:
- Tom Waits (1987): "Kind of a gospel number. Frank is on the bench, really on his knees and can't go any further. At the end of his rope on a park bench with an advertisement that says "Palladin Funeral Home." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)
- Tom Waits (1987): "Well, that's where it starts. When you're young you think everything is possible and that you're in the sun and all that. I always liked that Bob Dylan song, "I was young when I left home and I rambled around and I never wrote a letter to my home, to my home. Never wrote a letter to my home." You don't always know where you're going till you get there. That's the thing about train travel, at least when you say goodbye they get gradually smaller. Airplanes, people go through a door and they're gone. Very strange. They say now that jet lag is really your spirit catching up to your body." (Source: "Tom Waits is flying upside down (on purpose)". Musician (a Billboard publication) Mark Rowland October, 1987)
- Live intro as heard on Big Time: This is really the intro to 'Johnsburg, Illinois' but it's been edited in as an intro to 'Train Song' instead. You can hear the edit at 1.20]: "All right. Actually I get asked... Well... look, I think the question I get asked the most is... I mean, it happens a lot. Enough that I would remark on it. A lot of people come up to me and they say, 'Tom, is it possible for a woman to get pregnant without intercourse?' And my answer is always the same. I say, 'Well, listen. We're gonna have to go all the way back to the Civil War.' Apparently, a stray bullet actually pierced the testicle of a Union soldier, and then lodged itself in the ovaries of an eighteen year old girl, who was All right. Actually I get asked... Well... look, I think the question I get asked the most is... I mean, it happens a lot. Enough that I would remark on it. A lot of people come up to me and they say, 'Tom, is it possible for a woman to get pregnant without intercourse?' And my answer is always the same. I say, 'Well, listen. We're gonna have to go all the way back to the Civil War.' Apparently, a stray bullet actually pierced the testicle of a Union soldier, and then lodged itself in the ovaries of an eighteen year old girl, who was actually a hundred feet from him at the time. Well, the baby was fine. She was very happy, guilt free and... Of course, the soldier was a little pissed off. When you think about it, it's actually a FORM of intercourse, but... not for everyone. Those who love action maybe." actually a hundred feet from him at the time. Well, the baby was fine. She was very happy, guilt free and... Of course, the soldier was a little pissed off. When you think about it, it's actually a FORM of intercourse, but... not for everyone. Those who love action maybe." (Transcribed by Ulf Berggren. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000)

(2) St. Louis
- Also mentioned in: I Beg Your Pardon, 1982: "Please don't go back to St. Louis, can't you tell that I'm sincere.", Time, 1985: "And you're East of East Saint Louis and the wind is making speeches.", Hold On, 1999: "Well, God bless your crooked heart, St. Louis got the best of me."
- Jonathan Valania (1999): Getting back to the names of places, St. Louis seems to pop up a lot, in "Hold on" from the new record and "Time" from Rain Dogs and you've mentioned it a lot in interviews. Ever live there? TW: "No, never lived there. It's a good name to stick in a song. Every song needs to be anatomically correct: You need weather, you need the name of the town, something to eat - every song needs certain ingredients to be balanced. You're writing a song and you need a town, and you look out the window and you see "St. Louis Cardinals" on some kid's T-shirt. And you say, "Oh, we'll use that." (Source: "The Man Who Howled Wolf ". Magnet: Jonathan Valania. June/ July, 1999)

(3) Ring the bell: To succeed; to meet with approval or make a hit with someone (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)