All Aboard! Songs About Trains Quiz

Answer: The Monkees

The Monkees released the song "Last Train to Clarksville" in 1966 on their album, also titled "The Monkees". It was the first Number One hit for The Monkees. This song was considered anti-war, even though war was not explicitly mentioned. However, the line "And I don't know if I'm ever coming home" was an indirect reference to soldiers that left to fight in Vietnam. In the song, a man was leaving to fight in a war and wanted his female lover to join him before he had to leave.

In this song, the train represented an actual train.

The man took the last train, so that he can spend as much time with his lover as possible, since it may be the last time the two ever see other.

Answer: Doobie Brothers

"Long Train Runnin'", alternatively called "Long Train Running", was recorded by the Doobie Brothers. It made the US Billboard Hot 100, and a remix of the song would make the UK singles chart. "Long Train Runnin'" was also part of their album "The Captain and Me". Tom Johnston, who was the one to actually write the song, explained that the lyrics don't have a meaning.

He was just in the mood to have a song about a train, having been near trains all of his life. That hasn't stopped others from saying that they believe the song was about the inevitability of life's changes.

Answer: Gladys Knight and the Pips

The song "Midnight Train to Georgia" was originally written by Jim Weatherly but was also sung by Gladys Knight and the Pips. It could be found on their album "Imagination". The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The train in the song was an actual train going from Los Angeles to Georgia.

The person in the song was joining her lover on the train after he failed to become a star. The two were going to Georgia to start a new life, and him failing and leaving wasn't going to stop them from living their lives together.

Answer: Albert Hammond

"I'm a Train" was performed by Albert Hammond. It could also be found on his self-titled album. Although Hammond was not the first to sing this song, his version was the most popular. In the song, the train was the main character which was used to represent a person's journey. Sometimes, the train carried a burden; other times, it had a difficult journey, just like it could be for a person.

Heading to the breaker's yard was the end of the train's journey and thus symbolic of the end of a person's life.

Answer: Steve Winwood

"Night Train" was a 1980 song performed by Steve Winwood and can be found on the album "Arc of a Diver". The song was about the mysteries of the night and the transformation a person wishes to experience. The train itself represented the ride through the night/transformation. The exact encounters of the night are intentionally open to interpretation.

Answer: Sheena Easton

"Morning Train" was recorded by Sheena Easton and became her biggest hit at the time of its release. The original name of the song was "9 to 5", but it's known as "Morning Train" or "Morning Train (9 to 5)" to distinguish it from Dolly Parton's song "9 to 5" which was recorded around the same time. Easton's song can be found on the album "Take My Time". "Morning Train" was about a woman who waited at home for her husband to come home.

While he's away, the woman reflected on the good times she and her husband have and the love that the two of them share for each other.

The original title referred to the hours in which the husband worked while the new title referred to the transportation that the man took to work.

Answer: Flash and the Pan

"Waiting for a Train" was a song by Flash and the Pan. It could be found on their 1982 album "Headlines". There was also a song of the same name by Jimmie Rodgers, which preceded this song. The Flash and the Pan song could also be found in the movie "RocknRolla" (2008).

The song was about yearning for something beyond reach, whether it be a new opportunity or a random encounter as well as the thought that goes into whether a person obtains this objective. The train serves as a representation of the time in which this object was within reach.

Answer: Clint Eastwood and General Saint

"Stop That Train" was recorded by the Jamaican reggae duo of Clint Eastwood (not to be confused with the actor of the same name--this Clint Eastwood was actually born Robert Brammer, although he did take his name after the actor) and General Saint (who was born Winston Hislop).

The song can be found on the album, also called "Stop That Train". The train in the song was leaving the station, and one of the men asked, unsuccessfully, for it to be stopped, so she could join his woman. The train represents the struggle that two people face, and in this case, they could not overcome their struggles.

Answer: The Pasadenas

"Riding on a Train" by The Pasadenas can be found on their album "To Whom It May Concern". The song even made it to the UK singles chart! The song compares one's journey of life to a train ride. Throughout the train ride, there was self-discovery, hope--even amongst life's most difficult challenges, unpredictability, everyday love amongst people, and more. Until the day a person dies, the journey, and therefore the train ride, will continue, and until then, a person has the ability to triumph.

Answer: Soul Asylum

"Runaway Train" was written by Dave Pirner, lead singer of Soul Asylum. The song was part Soul Asylum's album "Grave Dancers Union". Pirner believed he was losing his hearing which caused him to experience a nervous breakdown. The train in the song represented Pirner's out of control depression. In 1993, "Runaway Train" would receive a Grammy for Best Rock Song.