Great Songs About Trains

View and Listen to the FIQL Playlist Here


First of all; let me say that this is in no way a complete list of train songs. Or at least I do not have the time to write such a book. There are literally thousands of songs written about or inspired by locomotives. Most of the examples in this playlist are currently available for free streaming on the fantastic Rhapsody music service or are available for free download at Amazon.com.

Trains are a very popular subject in popular music. You’ll find train songs sprinkled throughout Folk, Blues, Rock, Country and Bluegrass. The train can represent power and speed as well as recklessness and danger. It’s also a symbol of commerce and industry or for being down-and-out as in a railroad bum. The possibilities are endless. Trains, after all, are a critical piece in the puzzle of the industrial age. Without trains nations would not have been able to transport the goods and people necessary to build modern societies. Without the railroad, progress would have been stifled.

Train songs come in many different colors, but some of the most fascinating are when the train is paired with a human attribute, for example:

Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train” is a metaphor to describe an agape-centered critical mass being reached when peace finally catches on:

“Now I've been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun
Oh I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, some day it's going to come
Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again”

Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” is without a doubt, his signature song. It uses imagery of a runaway train to convey a sense of madness and anger over man’s inhumanity to man:

“Crazy, but that’s how it goes
Millions of people living as foes
Maybe it’s not to late
To learn how to love
And forget how to hate

Mental wounds not healing
Life’s a bitter shame
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train”

And The O’Jays “Love Train” like in Cat Steven’s “Peace Train”, paints an optimistic picture of the world with a train being the symbol of goodness.

“People, ain't no war
People all over the world (on this train)
Join in (ride the train)
Start a love train, love train (ride the train, y'all)
People all over the world (come on)”

View and Listen to the FIQL Playlist Here

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You can see more of Robert's playlists at Rhapsody Radish.