Songs About Trains – All Aboard!

“Listen to the jingle – The rumble and the roar – As she glides along the woodlands – Through the hills and by the shore – Hear the mighty rush of her engine – Hear those lonesome hobo’s call – Traveling through the jungle – On the Wabash Cannonball”….. A classic verse  from “Wabash Cannonball”, originally a hit by the legendary Roy Acuff in 1936, covered by countless others over the years. There is a certain fascination with trains, steel rails and the life of “trainman” … engineer, conductor, gandy dancer, etc. – A free spirit and a hard worker. This compilation of over 300 train songs is by no means complete, but gives an incredible selection of railroad and train related songs covering a huge genre range. You’ll notice a lot of bluegrass and old-time country songs here ranging from 60-80 years back mixed in with some modern day techno, punk, metal, hip hop and Euro-pop. And somewhere in between there is Big Band, jazz, swing, folk, reggae, showtunes, TV series themes, disco, rock, pop and modern country. Some relate to trains indifferent ways from the coal  mine workers mixed with travelers and hobos. Several don’t have the word(s) train, locomotive, engines, railcars, boxcars, express, brakeman, rails, spike, etc in the title but have lines within the song suggesting rail travel. Others use the terms such as “Train in Vain” and “Train of Thought” as terms of thinking or action instead of the true sense of the subject matter. There’s something soothing about the steady clickity-clack of the train gliding over the rails — Enough said … Enjoy 🙂

1. 3:10 To Yuma – Sandy Denny (Fairport Convention)
2. 5:15 – The Who
3. 500 Miles – Kingston Trio/Peter Paul & Mary/Bobby Bare
4. Ain’t No Brakeman – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5. All Night Train – Allman Brothers Band
6. Amtrak (Ain’t Comin’ Back) – Billy Joe Shaver
7. Amtrak Is For Lovers – Houston Calls
8. Another Town Another Train – ABBA
9. Another Train Coming – Kim Weston
10. At The Station – Joe Walsh
11. B & O Blues – Big Joe Turner
12. Baby Likes To Rock It (Like A Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train) – The Tractors
13. Ballad Of Jesse James – Marty Robbins/Kingston Trio/Grandpa Jones/Michael Martin Murphy
14. Ballad of John Henry – Jimmy Dean
15. Big Black Train – Flatt & Scruggs
16. Big Freight Train Carry Me Home – Boxcar Willie
17. Big Railroad Blues – Grateful Dead
18. Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock/Burl Ives
19. Big Steel Rail – Gordon Lightfoot
20. Big Train From Memphis – John Fogerty
21. Blue Railroad Train – Doc Watson
22. Blue Train – Johnny Cash
23. Blue Water Line – The Brothers Four
24. Boxcar Blues – Boxcar Willie
25. Boxcar Willie – Roy Acuff
26. Boxcars – Joe Ely
27. Boxcar’s My Home – Boxcar Willie/Willie Nelson
28. Brakeman’s Blues – Jimmie Rodgers
29. Canadian Pacific – Gordon Lightfoot/George Hamilton IV
30. Canadian Railroad Trilogy – Gordon Lightfoot
31. Cannonball – The Carter Family
32. Cannonball Blues – Utah Phillips/Grandpa Jones
33. Cannonball Rag – Doc Watson
34. Casey Jones – Grateful Dead
35. Casey Jones – Johnny Cash
36. Chattanooga Choo Choo – The Andrew Sisters/Glenn Miller/Cab Calloway
37. Chicken Train – Ozark Mountain Daredevils
38. Choo Choo Ch’boogie – Asleep At The Wheel/Stanley Brothers
    
39. City of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie/Willie Nelson
40. C’mon On Ride That Train – Quad City DJ’s
41. Conjunction Junction – Schoolhouse Rock (TV segments)
42. Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
43. Daddy Was A Railroad Man – Boxcar Willie
44. Daddy, What’s A Train – Utah Phillips/John Denver
45. Daybreak Express – Duke Ellington
46. Desperadoes Waiting For A Train – The Highwaymen
47. Devil’s Train – Roy Acuff
48. Dixie Flyer – Randy Newman
49. Do The Choo-Choo – Archie Bell & The Drells
50. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
51. Down By The Station – The Four Preps
52. Downbound Train – Bruce Springsteen
53. Downtown Train – Tom Waits/Rod Stewart
54. Drill Ye Tarriers Drill – The Easy Riders
55. Driver 8 – REM
56. Driving The Last Spike – Genesis
57. Drug Train – Social Distortion
58. Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot/Peter Paul & Mary
59. Eastbound Train – Flatt & Scruggs
60. Engine Engine Number Nine – Roger Miller
61. Engine Number Nine – The Deftones
62. Engine Number Nine – Starlight Express Soundtrack
63. Engine Of Love – Starlight Express Soundtrack
64. Express – B.T. Express
65. Fast Express – Stanley Brothers
66. Fast Freight – Kingston Trio
67. Fast Moving Night Train – Grandpa Jones
68. Fast Train – April Wine
69. Fireball Mail – Roy Acuff/Flatt & Scruggs
70. Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
71. Freedom Train – James Carr
72. Freight Train Blues – Jimmy Dean/Bob Dylan/Boxcar Willie
73. Freight Train Boogie – Red Foley/Doc Watson
74. Freight Train Comin’ – Metallica
75. Friendship Train – The Temptations
76. Full Throttle – Kottonmouth Kings
77. The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
78. Georgia On A Fast Train – Billy Joe Shaver/Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson
79. Get Back On The Train – Phish
80. Get Down Off The Train – The Isley Brothers
81. Ghetto Train – Luther Ingram
82. Ghost Train – Counting Crows/Bee Gees/Marc Cohn
83. Ghost Train – Gorillaz
84. Glendale Train – New Riders of The Purple Sage
85. Go Go Train – Freda Payne
86. Gone Darker – Electrelane
87. Gone Dead Train – Crazy Horse/Randy Newman
88. Gospel Train – The Wright Brothers
89. Graveyard Train – Creedence Clearwater Revival
90. Hear My Train A Comin’ – Jimi Hendrix
91. Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow – Roger Whittaker
92. Heart Like A Locomotive – Paul Butterfield Blues Band
93. Heartbreak Express – Dolly Parton
94. Hellbound Train – Savoy Brown
95. Here Comes The Freedom Train – Merle Haggard
96. Here Comes The Train – Solomon Burke
97. Hey Porter – Johnny Cash
98. High Speed Train – REM
99. Hobo Bill’s Last Ride – Hank Snow/Jimmie Rodgers/Merle Haggard
100. Hobo Heaven – Boxcar Willie
101. Hobo’s Lullaby – Woody Guthrie

1. Hobo’s Meditation – Jimmie Rodgers
2. Hobo You Can’t Ride This Train – Louis Armstrong
3. Hot Rails To Hell – Blue Oyster Cult
4. Homeward Bound – Simon & Garfunkel
5. I Love The Sound Of A Whistle – Boxcar Willie
6. I’m A Train – Albert Hammond
7. I’m Leaving On That Late Train – Solomon Burke
8. I’m On Fire – Bruce Springsteen
9. I’ve Been Working On The Railroad – Pete Seeger/Mitch Miller & His Gang
10. I’ve Got A Thing About Trains – Johnny Cash
11. If Love Was A Train – Michelle Shocked
12. Into You Like A Train – Psychedelic Furs
13. It Takes A Long Train (With A Red Caboose) – Bing Crosby/Peggy Lee
14. It Takes A Lot To Laugh (It Takes A Train To Cry) – Bob Dylan/Grateful Dead
15. Jenny Dreamed Of Trains – Sweethearts Of The Rodeo
16. John Henry – Merle Travis
17. Jump That Train – Foghat
18. Jumping Someone Else’s Train – The Cure
19. Just Another Whistle Stop – The Band
20. Just Like This Train – Joni Mitchell
21. Keep On Rollin’ Down The Line – Boxcar Willie
22. King Of The Road – Roger Miller
23. Lafayette Railroad – Little Feat
24. Last Train – Peter Rowan/Graham Central Station
25. Last Train For Glory – Arlo Guthrie
26. Last Train Home – Lost Prophets
27. Last Train Home (instrumental) – Pat Metheny Group
28. Last Train To Clarksville – The Monkees
29. Last Train To Heaven – Boxcar Willie
30. Last Train To London – Electric Light Orchestra
31. Last Train To Loveland – Eddie Hinton
32. Last Train To San Fernando – Johnny Duncan
33. Last Train To Transcentral – KLF
34. Legend Of John Henry – Johnny Cash
35. Let Me Ride The Southbound – Rex Allen
36. Let The Train Whistle Blow – Johnny Cash
37. The Letter – Box Tops/Joe Cocker
38. Life’s Railway To Heaven – Carter Family/Patsy Cline/Amazing Rhythm Aces
39. Linin’ Track – Leadbelly/Taj Mahal
40. The Loco-Motion – Little Eva
41. The Loco-Motion – Grand Funk Railroad
42. Locomotive – Motorhead
43. Locomotive – Sawyer Brown
44. Locomotive Breath – Jethro Tull
45. Locomotive Man – Johnny Cash
46. Lonesome Whistle – Hank Williams/Stonewall Jackson/Johnny Cash
47. Long Black Train – Josh Turner
48. Long Train – Guy Davis
49. Long Train Runnin’ – Doobie Brothers
50. Long Twin Silver Line – Bob Seger
51. Lost Train Blues – Woody Guthrie
52. Love Train – O’Jays
53. Love’s Train – Con Funk Shun
54. Lynnville Train – Robert Earl Keen
55. Marrakesh Express – Crosby Stills Nash & Young
56. Me & Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin/Kris Kristofferson
57. Medicine Train – The Cult
58. Memphis Flyer – Neil Diamond
59. Memphis Train – Rufus Thomas
60. The Metro – Berlin
61. Midnight Flyer – Osbourne Brothers/The Eagles
62. Midnight Special – Leadbelly/Joe Glazer
63. Midnight Special – Creedence Clearwater Revival
64. Midnight Train To Georgia – Gladys Knight & The Pips
65. Moose Turd Pie – Utah Philips
66. Morning Train – Peter Paul & Mary
67. Morning Train (Nine To Five) – Sheena Easton
68. Movin’ On – Hank Snow
69. The MTA – Kingston Trio
70. Mule Train – Tennessee Ernie Ford
71. My Baby Thinks He’s A Train – Roseanne Cash
72. Mystery Train – Elvis Presley/Ronnie Hawkins
73. Mystery Train – Bob Welch/Flying Burrito Brothers
74. New Train – John Prine
75. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – Joan Baez/The Band
76. Night Train – James Brown/Bobby Womack
77. Night Train – Guns N Roses
78. Night Train To Memphis – Roy Acuff/Jerry Lee Lewis/Grandpa Jones
79. Nine Hundred Miles – Woody Guthrie/New Christy Minstrels
80. Nine Pound Hammer – Bill Monroe/Merle Travis/Chet Atkins
81. Nine Pound Hammer – Beau Brummels/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
82. Nobody Takes The Train Anymore – Holly Dunn
83. Old Iron Trail – Boxcar Willie
84. Old Train – Tony Rice Unit
85. On The Atchison Topeka & The Santa Fe – The Andrew Sisters/Bing Crosby/Judy Garland
86. On The Atchison Topeka & The Santa Fe – Johnny Mercer/Tommy Dorsey
87. On The Train – Janis Ian
88. One More Ride – Hank Snow/Johnny Cash
89. One Toke Over The Line – Brewer & Shipley
90. Orange Blossom Special – Johnny Cash/Charlie Daniels Band
91. Orange Blossom Special – Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys/Flatt & Scruggs
92. Party Train – Gap Band
93. Passage To Bangkok – Rush
94. Passin’ Train – Sawyer Brown
95. Peace Train – Cat Stevens
96. Petticoat Junction (TV Show Theme) – Flatt & Scruggs
97. The Polar Express (Movie Soundtrack) – Tom Hanks
98. Promised Land – Elvis Presley
99. Put Me On A Train Back To Texas – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
100. Queen Of The Rails – Utah Phillips
101. The Rail Song – Adrian Belew
102. Railroad Blues – Beastie Boys
103. A Railroad Bum – Jim Reeves
104. Railroad Lady – Jimmy Buffett
105. Railroad Man – The Eels
106. The Railroad Song – Jim Croce
107. Railroad Song – Lynyrd Skynyrd
108. Ramblin’ On My Mind – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers/Eric Clapton
109. Ramblin Blues – Robert Johnson
110. Ride The Train – Alabama
111. Ride This Train – Mel McDaniel
112. Riding That Midnight Train – Doc Watson/Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
113. Rock Island Line – Lonnie Donegan/Leadbelly/Johnny Horton
114. Rock Island Line – Johnny Cash/Carl Perkins/Kingston Trio
115. Roundhouse Blues – Moby Grape
116. RR Express – Rose Royce
117. Runaway Train – Elton John/Eric Clapton
118. Runaway Train – Soul Asylum
119. Same Train Different Time – Jimmy Rogers
120. She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain – Tex Ritter/Pete Seeger
121. Silver Train – Rolling Stones
122. Silverton Train – C.W. McCall
123. Slow Train – Staple Singers
124. Slow Train Comin’ – Bob Dylan
125. Soul Train – Mary Wells/The Manhattans
126. Soul Train Theme (TV Show Theme) – Soul Train Gang
127. Soul Train ’93 (Know You Like To Dance) – Naughty By Nature
128. Soul Train’s A Comin’ – O’Bryan
129. Southbound Train – David Crosby & Graham Nash
130. Southbound Train – Travis Tritt
131. Southern Pacific – Neil Young
132. Spanish Train – Chris DeBurgh
133. Spell Of A Train – Riccochet
134. Stop This Train – John Mayer
135. Starlight On The Rails – Flatt & Scruggs/Utah Phillips
136. Station To Station – David Bowie
137. Steel Rails – Allison Krauss
138. Stop That Train – The Wailers
139. Strangers On A Train – New Riders Of The Purple Sage
140. Streamlined Cannonball – Roy Acuff/Doc Watson
141. Take The ‘A’ Train – Duke Ellington
142. Take The ‘A’ Train – Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
143. Taking Care Of Business – Bachman Turner Overdrive
144. Tennessee Central Number Nine – Roy Acuff
145. Texas Silver Zephyr – Red Steagall
146. Texas 1947 – Johnny Cash/Guy Clark
147. That Memphis Train – Grandpa Jones
148. That Old Train Whistle – Smothers Brothers
149. That Train – Jerry Butler
150. This Train – Woody Guthrie
151. This Train – Augie March
152. This Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore – Elton John
153. This Train Revisted – Indigo Girls
154. Throw Mama From The Train – Patti Page
155. Ticket To Ride – The Beatles/The Carpenters
156. Tons Of Steel – Grateful Dead
157. Train – Goldfrapp
158. Train 45 – Stanley Brothers
159. Train A-Travelin’ – Bob Dylan
160. Train From Kansas City – Shangri-Las
161. Train Hoppin’ – Jack Johnson
162. Train In The Distance – Paul Simon
163. Train In The Hollow – The County Gentlemen
164. Train In Vain – The Clash
165. Train Keep On Movin’ – The 5th Dimension
166. Train Kept-A-Rollin’ – Aerosmith/The Yardbirds
167. Train Leaves Here This Morning – The Eagles
168. Train Long Suffering – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
169. Train Of Consequences – Megadeth
170. Train Of Love – Willie Hutch/Johnny Cash
171. Train Of Love – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
172. Train Of Thought – Cher
173. Train’ Round The Bend – The Velvet Underground
174. Train Song – Tom Waits/Gram Parsons/Phish
175. Train Songs – Tom T. Hall
176. Train Train – Dolly Parton/Blackfoot
177. Train Whistle Blues – Hank Snow/Jimmie Rodgers
178. Train Wreck – Sarah McLachlan
179. Trains – Ian Anderson/Al Stewart
180. Trains, Boats & Planes – Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas
181. Trains Make Me Lonesome – George Strait
182. Trains Tracks & Travel – Hank Snow
183. Trainwreck Of Emotion – Lorrie Morgan
184. Trans-Europe Express – Kraftwerk
185. TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) – MFSB/The Three Degrees
186. TSOP 2000 – Dr. Freeze & Samson
187. Two Trains Running – Paul Butterfield Blues Band/Little Feat
188. Up On Soul Train – The Waters/The Whispers
189. Wabash Cannonball – Roy Acuff/Carter Family/Doc Watson/Utah Phillips
190. Wabash Cannonball – Johnny Cash/The Limeliters/Chet Atkins
191. Waiting At The Station – Aaron Neville
192. Waiting For A Train – Roy Acuff/Hank Snow/Jimmie Rodgers
193. Waiting For A Train – Jerry Lee Lewis/Johnny Cash/Jim Reeves
194. Walking Down A Railroad Line – Woody Guthrie
195. Westbound Train – Dennis Brown
196. When The Golden Train Comes Down – Sons Of The Pioneers
197. Whistle Stop – Louis Prima
198. White Freightliner Blues – Steve Earle
199. Will There Be Any Freight Trains In Heaven – Jimmy Rogers/Merle Haggard
200. Wreck Of The Old ’97 – Woody Guthrie/Hank Snow/Flatt & Scruggs
201. Wreck Of The Old ’97 – Johnny Cash/Boxcar Willie
202. Zion Train – Bob Marley & The Wailers