"Downbound Train" is a song that appears on the 1984 Bruce Springsteen album Born in the U.S.A. The song is a lament to a lost spouse, and takes on a melancholy tone.[3][4] Author Christopher Sandford described the song as beginning "like a Keith Richards' riff" that ultimately moves to "one of those great country busted-heart lines, 'Now I work down at the car wash/where all it ever does is rain.'"[5]
| "Downbound Train" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bruce Springsteen | |
| from the album Born in the U.S.A. | |
| Released | June 4, 1984 |
| Recorded | May 6, 1982[1] |
| Studio | Power Station, New York City |
| Genre | Heartland rock[2] |
| Length | 3:35 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Springsteen |
| Producer(s) |
|
The song was recorded on May 6, 1982 at the Power Station at the end of the "Electric Nebraska" sessions.[1][5][6] Like several other Born in the U.S.A. songs, including "Working on the Highway" and the title track, a solo acoustic version of "Downbound Train" was originally recorded on the demo that eventually became the Nebraska album.[3][7] "Downbound Train" is one of the few tracks that was successfully recorded at the "Electric Nebraska" sessions.
Though it was not one of the seven singles released from the album, the song nevertheless gained some album-oriented rock radio airplay and was featured fairly regularly on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. It has been performed sporadically in tours since. Overall, the song has been played in concert about 130 times through 2008.
Reception
editAuthor Robert Kirkpatrick contended that "Downbound Train" "might be the best song on the album",[3] and Debby Bull called it "the saddest song [Springsteen]'s ever written."[3] Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, writing in Glory Days, did not agree, calling "Downbound Train" "the weakest song [Springsteen]'s released since the second album, ... incredibly sloppy ... The protagonist's three jobs in five verses are only symptomatic of its problems."[7][8] Other observers analysed it in retrospect as a harbinger, with naturalistic imagery lacing the song throughout in an approach that Springsteen would return to heavily in his Dylan-"Series of Dreams"-influenced early 1990s.
Personnel
editAccording to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:[9]
- Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitars
- Roy Bittan – keyboards
- Garry Tallent – bass
- Max Weinberg – drums
Cover versions
edit- The Smithereens contributed a cover of "Downbound Train" to the 1997 album, One Step Up / Two Steps Back – The Songs of Bruce Springsteen.
- Kurt Vile included a cover of "Downbound Train" on his EP, So Outta Reach.
- Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska included a cover of "Downbound Train" by Raul Malo.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Heylin, Clinton (2012). Song By Song. London: Penguin. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (August 6, 2020). "The 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs, Ranked". Uproxx. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 82, 97–98. ISBN 978-0-275-98938-5.
- ^ Masur, L.P. (2010). Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Bruce Springsteen's American Vision. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-60819-101-7.
- ^ a b Sandford, C. (1999). Springsteen: Point Blank. Da Capo Press. pp. 194, 226. ISBN 978-0-306-80921-7.
- ^ "Brucebase, On The Tracks: Born In The USA". Brucebase.wikidot.com. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
- ^ a b Marsh, D. (2004). Two Hearts. Psychology Press. pp. 341, 426.
- ^ Marsh, D. (1996). Glory Days. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-101-8.
- ^ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-78472-649-2.
External links
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