Ask Lemmy

Train Kept a Rollin by Aerosmith

Also,

Okaihau Express by Peter Cape (other Jet Lag fans in here?)

A few you might not have heard

Two feet ahead of the train - Michael McNevin

And I know it's a Christian song but Josh Turner Long Black Train is so good.

Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer - Hey Conductor

Peace Train by Cat Stevens

Love Train O‘Jays

Last Train to London by ELO

Chattanooga Choo Choo Glen Miller/ Andrews Sisters

Take The A Train Duke Ellington

Midnight Train to Georgia Gladys and Pips

Just a small town girl, living in a loooonely world, She took the midnight train, going an-yyyy-where

List of train songs - Wikipedia

For all your train song needs 🚂 🚃 🚆 🚄 🚅 🚉 🛤️

I haven't seen mention of Ozzy's maybe biggest hit, Crazy Train

Toto Cutugno - Il treno va

Quad City DJs - C’mon N’ Ride It

No Use for a Name - Don’t Miss the Train

Tom Waits (original), Rod Stewart/Patty Smyth/Bob Seger - Downtown Train

Journey - Don’t Stop Belivin’

John Fogerty - Train of Fools

Guns ‘N Roses “Night Train” (though technically not about a locomotive but getting blitzed on rotgut)

I’d never contemplated how many songs reference trains.

• Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (live from San Quentin version!)
• Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
• Half Man Half Biscuit - Time Flies By When You're The Driver Of A Train

Last Train to Clarksville by the Monkees

Electric Callboy - teckno train

How's this one been missed?

I LIKE TRAINS - asdfmovie

Not sure it’s it’s been mentioned, but the corny and old school answer is Chattanooga Choo Choo

Til it was also the first gold selling record (1 million+)

So many Johnny Cash songs:

https://www.discogs.com/release/12321351-Johnny-Cash-And-The-Tennessee-Two-Get-Rhythm-Story-Songs-Of-The-Trains-And-Rivers

Special Streamline by Bukka White.

Blue Railroad Train by Doc Watson

Choo Choo Train by the Box Tops

Downbound Train by Chuck Berry

Take the A Train by Esquivel

There are SO many songs about trains.

L & N Special by Christine Kittrell

Not strictly about trains, but it's prominent in the lyrics of "Casey Jones" by The Greatful Dead.

I have one German A Cappella song and one German Volkslied from the 1800s.

Wise Guys - Deutsche Bahn

Auf de Schwäbsche Eisebahne (Volkslied)

Can't believe that no one has mentioned this one yet...

Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans

The most famouse song about DB by wise guys

Train Underwater - Bright Eyes New Virginia Creeper - Old Crow Medicine Show Let the Train Blow the Whistle - Johnny Cash

Am undiagnosed but definitely autistic. My opinion on trains is they used to scare the shit out of me when I was a child. Coal trains are all over the place where I live, and I was right up next to them while they were making terrifying loud noises. I think that ruined any interest I might have had from a distance. Now as an adult, I am very interested in the engineering and workings of trains, but not much more than the engineering and workings of all other complex engineered systems. But I'm more interested in buildings and architecture than mechanical engineering.

Freight train rolling on by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, and a bunch of other blues songs are related to trains, built around sounds and rhythms the trains make, or around journeying on trains.

Casey Jones - The Grateful Dead

https://youtu.be/6QuQ-yVDQ54

Admittedly, it's train tangential

Runaway Train

Didn't see this here yet (though maybe I missed it)

Train Song - Vashti Bunyan

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U_cZyavt06U

She caught the Katy - Blues Brothers or Taj Mahal*

Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash

Midnight Special - Creedence Clearwater Revival or Leadbelly*

Love in Vain - Robert Johnson*

Locomotive Breath - Jethro Tull

Barricades and Brickwalls - Kacey Chambers

Train to Nowhere - Savoy Brown

Hear My Train A Comin - Jimi Hendrix*

*There have been loads of songs about trains or that mention trains in American blues history.. I'm barely scratching the surface, here. In the early days of the 20th century the blues artists used to travel around by hopping on freight trains to get from town to town, so they featured in many, many songs. There would have been even more songs written to the rhythm of a rolling carriage, too, that don't even mention trains at all.

One of my favorite artists, Tim Barry, does (or maybe did) some train hopping so some of his songs are about his experience riding in boxcars and that's reflected in his album art. A few of his that come to mind are: Driver Pull Chirch of Level Track Steel Road

But for an actual song about a train, I didn't see "Wabash Cannonball" yet. You can make a playlist from different Artists renditions of this song. Roy Acuff's take on it is the one that I associate with the song but the Limeliters is probably my favorite.

Runaway Train - Soul Asylum

Flanders & Swann - The Slow Train https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U6OHD2uCpfU&list=RDU6OHD2uCpfU&start_radio=1&pp=ygUOdGhlIHNsb3cgdHJhaW6gBwE%3D&ra=m

This album is about actual train wrecks, I believe.

The Ghost of Hope by The Residents

Train in the Distance by Paul Simon

Lots of these songs involve trains. This one is about trains: I Often Dream of Trains - Robin Hitchcock

Train, Train by Blackfoot is kinda awesome.

The Monkees - Last Train to Clarkesville

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train to Georgia

Edit: also https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/songs-about-trains/

Bonus question: if you’re autistic, what are your opinions on trains? I’m personally ambivalent about trains, but they also feel like they’re my culture, because of how many of my fellow autistic nerds like trains.

Not autistic, but an urbanist and transportation engineer: trains are fucking awesome! Second only to bicycles in terms of efficiency of land-based transportation, and with such high capacity that induced demand actually becomes a positive effect for them (as opposed to a very negative effect when talking about automobiles).

Dethklok - Murder train a comin

Not autistic, probably, but trains are pretty cool. I've hopped trains before and that was fun, but I also don't recommend it.

Edit: just remembered, Townes Van Zandt - Desperados waiting for a train

Trains by porcupine tree !!!!

Doesn't Kenny Rogers' The Gambler take place on a train? not about a train per say but the story is set on a train, right?

Off the top of my head, the only real "train" focused song i know is Murdertrain a Comin' by Dethklok.

What about the song Trains by Porcupine Tree?

Passage to Bangkok - Rush

The train song - nick cave

Thomas The Tank Engine theme song

Not sure how well it counts for being about trains, but the first one that leapt to mind for me was Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath

It's at least got a lot of train allegory.

Orient Express

Edit seems to only instrumental.

I only know the Finnish version originally

Pikajuna Meksikon

Edit 2 here are the translated lyrics (i didn't bother checking so it's ai translate)

Verse 1]

The express train is speeding through Mexico, it's already night The spotlights sweep the shiny track The barking of a coyote is heard, fading into the noise of the locomotive

Behind the Sierra Madre, the moon is bulging like cheese

The atmosphere in the first-class carriage is sleepy. Passengers, men, women, everyone is dozing. Then the pace slows down and almost stops. What could be the reason for the stop?

Verse 2]

The brakes squeal on the wheels, the carriage door opens. Two men rush in, talking dirty. Little Pete, Big Pat, both gangsters. Both of them are brandishing large crowbars.

"Hands up, gentlemen!" shouts a sharp command

Big Pat and shoots at the ceiling a couple of times:

"It would be wise for everyone to open their wallets now

"Listen to the one who is wearing shoes"

[Verse 3]

No one can resist, Little Pete guards Big Pat while he evacuates with his fingers the most accustomed Rings and purses, medallions, wallets

The robber also searches the suitcases alone. Nothing is left for the victims, the prey exceeds their hopes. Little Pete hisses at the top of his lungs: "Men are beaten to a pulp, but women are taken away."

"I can't be without my beloved now."

[Verse 4]

A rumbling laugh rings out, Big Pat now echoes his Partner's words and soon grunts: "Okay, that's what we'll do, we'll have a decent harem."

"Let's take the dirt to a hidden cave behind the Sierra Madre"

Then from the trap of the carriage, from among the gentlemen

Hidalgo now steps forward, says: "Señores, do whatever you want to us, but spare the women, otherwise you will have a bad memory."

[Verse 5]

A moment of silence follows, the suggestion is strange, new

Ha, now there's a commotion in the women's group too. An old maid, now, fifty years old, demands the floor and immediately gets it. Her eyes blazing with anger, she jumps on her feet and begins to vent her anger at Hidalgo:

"What is the gentleman talking about and fussing about? Let's do as the bandits order."

Huh-hah-heija, we'll do as the bandits order

Edit 3 i feel like there were more of those in the song than in tje lyrics page I looked at

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash