“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 🙂
Songs About Trains ~ All Aboard!
- 3:10 To Yuma – Sandy Denny (Fairport Convention)
- 5:15 – The Who
- 500 Miles – Kingston Trio/Peter Paul & Mary/Bobby Bare
- Ain’t No Brakeman – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
- All Night Train – Allman Brothers Band
- Amtrak (Ain’t Comin’ Back) – Billy Joe Shaver
- Amtrak Is For Lovers – Houston Calls
- Another Town Another Train – ABBA
- Another Train Coming – Kim Weston
- At The Station – Joe Walsh
- B & O Blues – Big Joe Turner
- Baby Likes To Rock It (Like A Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train) – The Tractors
- Ballad Of Jesse James – Marty Robbins/Kingston Trio/Grandpa Jones/Michael Martin Murphy
- Ballad of John Henry – Jimmy Dean
- Big Black Train – Flatt & Scruggs
- Big Freight Train Carry Me Home – Boxcar Willie
- Big Railroad Blues – Grateful Dead
- Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock/Burl Ives
- Big Steel Rail – Gordon Lightfoot
- Big Train From Memphis – John Fogerty
- Blue Railroad Train – Doc Watson
- Blue Train – Johnny Cash
- Blue Water Line – The Brothers Four
- Boxcar Blues – Boxcar Willie
- Boxcar Willie – Roy Acuff
- Boxcars – Joe Ely
- Boxcar’s My Home – Boxcar Willie/Willie Nelson
- Brakeman’s Blues – Jimmie Rodgers
- Canadian Pacific – Gordon Lightfoot/George Hamilton IV
- Canadian Railroad Trilogy – Gordon Lightfoot
- Cannonball – The Carter Family
- Cannonball Blues – Utah Phillips/Grandpa Jones
- Cannonball Rag – Doc Watson
- Casey Jones – Grateful Dead
- Casey Jones – Johnny Cash
- Chattanooga Choo Choo – The Andrew Sisters/Glenn Miller/Cab Calloway
- Chicken Train – Ozark Mountain Daredevils
- Choo Choo Ch’boogie – Asleep At The Wheel/Stanley Brothers
- City of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie/Willie Nelson
- C’mon On Ride That Train – Quad City DJ’s
- Conjunction Junction – Schoolhouse Rock (TV segments)
- Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
- Daddy Was A Railroad Man – Boxcar Willie
- Daddy, What’s A Train – Utah Phillips/John Denver
- Daybreak Express – Duke Ellington
- Desperadoes Waiting For A Train – The Highwaymen
- Devil’s Train – Roy Acuff
- Dixie Flyer – Randy Newman
- Do The Choo-Choo – Archie Bell & The Drells
- Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
- Down By The Station – The Four Preps
- Downbound Train – Bruce Springsteen
- Downtown Train – Tom Waits/Rod Stewart
- Drill Ye Tarriers Drill – The Easy Riders
- Driver 8 – REM
- Driving The Last Spike – Genesis
- Drug Train – Social Distortion
- Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot/Peter Paul & Mary
- Eastbound Train – Flatt & Scruggs
- Engine Engine Number Nine – Roger Miller
- Engine Number Nine – The Deftones
- Engine Number Nine – Starlight Express Soundtrack
- Engine Of Love – Starlight Express Soundtrack
- Express – B.T. Express
- Fast Express – Stanley Brothers
- Fast Freight – Kingston Trio
- Fast Moving Night Train – Grandpa Jones
- Fast Train – April Wine
- Fireball Mail – Roy Acuff/Flatt & Scruggs
- Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
- Freedom Train – James Carr
- Freight Train Blues – Jimmy Dean/Bob Dylan/Boxcar Willie
- Freight Train Boogie – Red Foley/Doc Watson
- Freight Train Comin’ – Metallica
- Friendship Train – The Temptations
- Full Throttle – Kottonmouth Kings
- The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
- Georgia On A Fast Train – Billy Joe Shaver/Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson
- Get Back On The Train – Phish
- Get Down Off The Train – The Isley Brothers
- Ghetto Train – Luther Ingram
- Ghost Train – Counting Crows/Bee Gees/Marc Cohn
- Ghost Train – Gorillaz
- Glendale Train – New Riders of The Purple Sage
- Go Go Train – Freda Payne
- Gone Darker – Electrelane
- Gone Dead Train – Crazy Horse/Randy Newman
- Gospel Train – The Wright Brothers
- Graveyard Train – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Hear My Train A Comin’ – Jimi Hendrix
- Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow – Roger Whittaker
- Heart Like A Locomotive – Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- Heartbreak Express – Dolly Parton
- Hellbound Train – Savoy Brown
- Here Comes The Freedom Train – Merle Haggard
- Here Comes The Train – Solomon Burke
- Hey Porter – Johnny Cash
- High Speed Train – REM
- Hobo Bill’s Last Ride – Hank Snow/Jimmie Rodgers/Merle Haggard
- Hobo Heaven – Boxcar Willie
- Hobo’s Lullaby – Woody Guthrie
- Hobo’s Meditation – Jimmie Rodgers
- Hobo You Can’t Ride This Train – Louis Armstrong
- Hot Rails To Hell – Blue Oyster Cult
- Homeward Bound – Simon & Garfunkel
- I Love The Sound Of A Whistle – Boxcar Willie
- I’m A Train – Albert Hammond
- I’m Leaving On That Late Train – Solomon Burke
- I’m On Fire – Bruce Springsteen
- I’ve Been Working On The Railroad – Pete Seeger/Mitch Miller & His Gang
- I’ve Got A Thing About Trains – Johnny Cash
- If Love Was A Train – Michelle Shocked
- Into You Like A Train – Psychedelic Furs
- It Takes A Long Train (With A Red Caboose) – Bing Crosby/Peggy Lee
- It Takes A Lot To Laugh (It Takes A Train To Cry) – Bob Dylan/Grateful Dead
- Jenny Dreamed Of Trains – Sweethearts Of The Rodeo
- John Henry – Merle Travis
- Jump That Train – Foghat
- Jumping Someone Else’s Train – The Cure
- Just Another Whistle Stop – The Band
- Just Like This Train – Joni Mitchell
- Keep On Rollin’ Down The Line – Boxcar Willie
- King Of The Road – Roger Miller
- Lafayette Railroad – Little Feat
- Last Train – Peter Rowan/Graham Central Station
- Last Train For Glory – Arlo Guthrie
- Last Train Home – Lost Prophets
- Last Train Home (instrumental) – Pat Metheny Group
- Last Train To Clarksville – The Monkees
- Last Train To Heaven – Boxcar Willie
- Last Train To London – Electric Light Orchestra
- Last Train To Loveland – Eddie Hinton
- Last Train To San Fernando – Johnny Duncan
- Last Train To Transcentral – KLF
- Legend Of John Henry – Johnny Cash
- Let Me Ride The Southbound – Rex Allen
- Let The Train Whistle Blow – Johnny Cash
- The Letter – Box Tops/Joe Cocker
- Life’s Railway To Heaven – Carter Family/Patsy Cline/Amazing Rhythm Aces
- Linin’ Track – Leadbelly/Taj Mahal
- The Loco-Motion – Little Eva
- The Loco-Motion – Grand Funk Railroad
- Locomotive – Motorhead
- Locomotive – Sawyer Brown
- Locomotive Breath – Jethro Tull
- Locomotive Man – Johnny Cash
- Lonesome Whistle – Hank Williams/Stonewall Jackson/Johnny Cash
- Long Black Train – Josh Turner
- Long Train – Guy Davis
- Long Train Runnin’ – Doobie Brothers
- Long Twin Silver Line – Bob Seger
- Lost Train Blues – Woody Guthrie
- Love Train – O’Jays
- Love’s Train – Con Funk Shun
- Lynnville Train – Robert Earl Keen
- Marrakesh Express – Crosby Stills Nash & Young
- Me & Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin/Kris Kristofferson
- Medicine Train – The Cult
- Memphis Flyer – Neil Diamond
- Memphis Train – Rufus Thomas
- The Metro – Berlin
- Midnight Flyer – Osbourne Brothers/The Eagles
- Midnight Special – Leadbelly/Joe Glazer
- Midnight Special – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Midnight Train To Georgia – Gladys Knight & The Pips
- Moose Turd Pie – Utah Philips
- Morning Train – Peter Paul & Mary
- Morning Train (Nine To Five) – Sheena Easton
- Movin’ On – Hank Snow
- The MTA – Kingston Trio
- Mule Train – Tennessee Ernie Ford
- My Baby Thinks He’s A Train – Roseanne Cash
- Mystery Train – Elvis Presley/Ronnie Hawkins
- Mystery Train – Bob Welch/Flying Burrito Brothers
- New Train – John Prine
- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – Joan Baez/The Band
- Night Train – James Brown/Bobby Womack
- Night Train – Guns N Roses
- Night Train To Memphis – Roy Acuff/Jerry Lee Lewis/Grandpa Jones
- Nine Hundred Miles – Woody Guthrie/New Christy Minstrels
- Nine Pound Hammer – Bill Monroe/Merle Travis/Chet Atkins
- Nine Pound Hammer – Beau Brummels/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
- Nobody Takes The Train Anymore – Holly Dunn
- Old Iron Trail – Boxcar Willie
- Old Train – Tony Rice Unit
- On The Atchison Topeka & The Santa Fe – The Andrew Sisters/Bing Crosby/Judy Garland
- On The Atchison Topeka & The Santa Fe – Johnny Mercer/Tommy Dorsey
- On The Train – Janis Ian
- One More Ride – Hank Snow/Johnny Cash
- One Toke Over The Line – Brewer & Shipley
- Orange Blossom Special – Johnny Cash/Charlie Daniels Band
- Orange Blossom Special – Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys/Flatt & Scruggs
- Party Train – Gap Band
- Passage To Bangkok – Rush
- Passin’ Train – Sawyer Brown
- Peace Train – Cat Stevens
- Petticoat Junction (TV Show Theme) – Flatt & Scruggs
- The Polar Express (Movie Soundtrack) – Tom Hanks
- Promised Land – Elvis Presley
- Put Me On A Train Back To Texas – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
- Queen Of The Rails – Utah Phillips
- The Rail Song – Adrian Belew
- Railroad Blues – Beastie Boys
- A Railroad Bum – Jim Reeves
- Railroad Lady – Jimmy Buffett
- Railroad Man – The Eels
- The Railroad Song – Jim Croce
- Railroad Song – Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Ramblin’ On My Mind – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers/Eric Clapton
- Ramblin Blues – Robert Johnson
- Ride The Train – Alabama
- Ride This Train – Mel McDaniel
- Riding That Midnight Train – Doc Watson/Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
- Rock Island Line – Lonnie Donegan/Leadbelly/Johnny Horton
- Rock Island Line – Johnny Cash/Carl Perkins/Kingston Trio
- Roundhouse Blues – Moby Grape
- RR Express – Rose Royce
- Runaway Train – Elton John/Eric Clapton
- Runaway Train – Soul Asylum
- Same Train Different Time – Jimmy Rogers
- She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain – Tex Ritter/Pete Seeger
- Silver Train – Rolling Stones
- Silverton Train – C.W. McCall
- Slow Train – Staple Singers
- Slow Train Comin’ – Bob Dylan
- Soul Train – Mary Wells/The Manhattans
- Soul Train Theme (TV Show Theme) – Soul Train Gang
- Soul Train ’93 (Know You Like To Dance) – Naughty By Nature
- Soul Train’s A Comin’ – O’Bryan
- Southbound Train – David Crosby & Graham Nash
- Southbound Train – Travis Tritt
- Southern Pacific – Neil Young
- Spanish Train – Chris DeBurgh
- Spell Of A Train – Riccochet
- Stop This Train – John Mayer
- Starlight On The Rails – Flatt & Scruggs/Utah Phillips
- Station To Station – David Bowie
- Steel Rails – Allison Krauss
- Stop That Train – The Wailers
- Strangers On A Train – New Riders Of The Purple Sage
- Streamlined Cannonball – Roy Acuff/Doc Watson
- Take The ‘A’ Train – Duke Ellington
- Take The ‘A’ Train – Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
- Taking Care Of Business – Bachman Turner Overdrive
- Tennessee Central Number Nine – Roy Acuff
- Texas Silver Zephyr – Red Steagall
- Texas 1947 – Johnny Cash/Guy Clark
- That Memphis Train – Grandpa Jones
- That Old Train Whistle – Smothers Brothers
- That Train – Jerry Butler
- This Train – Woody Guthrie
- This Train – Augie March
- This Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore – Elton John
- This Train Revisted – Indigo Girls
- Throw Mama From The Train – Patti Page
- Ticket To Ride – The Beatles/The Carpenters
- Tons Of Steel – Grateful Dead
- Train – Goldfrapp
- Train 45 – Stanley Brothers
- Train A-Travelin’ – Bob Dylan
- Train From Kansas City – Shangri-Las
- Train Hoppin’ – Jack Johnson
- Train In The Distance – Paul Simon
- Train In The Hollow – The County Gentlemen
- Train In Vain – The Clash
- Train Keep On Movin’ – The 5th Dimension
- Train Kept-A-Rollin’ – Aerosmith/The Yardbirds
- Train Leaves Here This Morning – The Eagles
- Train Long Suffering – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
- Train Of Consequences – Megadeth
- Train Of Love – Willie Hutch/Johnny Cash
- Train Of Love – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- Train Of Thought – Cher
- Train’ Round The Bend – The Velvet Underground
- Train Song – Tom Waits/Gram Parsons/Phish
- Train Songs – Tom T. Hall
- Train Train – Dolly Parton/Blackfoot
- Train Whistle Blues – Hank Snow/Jimmie Rodgers
- Train Wreck – Sarah McLachlan
- Trains – Ian Anderson/Al Stewart
- Trains, Boats & Planes – Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas
- Trains Make Me Lonesome – George Strait
- Trains Tracks & Travel – Hank Snow
- Trainwreck Of Emotion – Lorrie Morgan
- Trans-Europe Express – Kraftwerk
- TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) – MFSB/The Three Degrees
- TSOP 2000 – Dr. Freeze & Samson
- Two Trains Running – Paul Butterfield Blues Band/Little Feat
- Up On Soul Train – The Waters/The Whispers
- Wabash Cannonball – Roy Acuff/Carter Family/Doc Watson/Utah Phillips
- Wabash Cannonball – Johnny Cash/The Limeliters/Chet Atkins
- Waiting At The Station – Aaron Neville
- Waiting For A Train – Roy Acuff/Hank Snow/Jimmie Rodgers
- Waiting For A Train – Jerry Lee Lewis/Johnny Cash/Jim Reeves
- Walking Down A Railroad Line – Woody Guthrie
- Westbound Train – Dennis Brown
- When The Golden Train Comes Down – Sons Of The Pioneers
- Whistle Stop – Louis Prima
- White Freightliner Blues – Steve Earle
- Will There Be Any Freight Trains In Heaven – Jimmy Rogers/Merle Haggard
- Wreck Of The Old ’97 – Woody Guthrie/Hank Snow/Flatt & Scruggs
- Wreck Of The Old ’97 – Johnny Cash/Boxcar Willie
- Zion Train – Bob Marley & The Wailers
Filed under: Nostalgia, Song Lists, Trains | Tagged: Bob Dylan, Boxcar Willie, Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, engine, Flatt & Scruggs, Grandpa Jones, Hank Snow, hobo songs, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Cash, locomotive, rail songs, railroad songs, Roger Miller, Roy Acuff, song list, songs about, songs with themes, train songs, train whistle, Woody Guthrie | 10 Comments »