trivia songs that mention trains/ railways

[Mainliner]

Sorry if I missed a previous reference, but the Marrakesh Express:

Looking at the world through the sunset in your eyes
Travelling the train through clear Moroccan skies
Ducks and pigs and chickens call
Animal carpet wall-to-wall
American ladies five-foot tall in blue

Sweeping cobwebs from the edges of my mind
Had to get away to see what we could find
Hope the days that lie ahead
Bring us back to where they've led
Listen not to what's been said to you

Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
They're taking me to Marrakesh
All aboard the train, all aboard the train

I've been saving all my money just to take you there
I smell the garden in your hair
Take the train from Casablanca going south

Blowing smoke rings from the corners of my mouth my mouth, my mouth
Colored cottons hang in the air
Charming cobras in the square
Striped djellebas we can wear at home
Well, let me hear ya now

Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
They're taking me to Marrakesh
Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express?
They're taking me to Marrakesh

All on board the train
All on board the train
All on board

I was delighted to be able to ride this train from Casablanca to Marrakesh in 1981, as part of a month on Inter Rail.

A particular memory was the mint tea sellers who would board the train, with a large hot water container, and sell delicious freshly brewed mint tea.

 

[westernpunk]

america. ventura highway

elton john. rocket man

 

[Spaceship323]

How about Buck Dharma's Five Thirty-Five (hope the train is on time)

 

[DustyBin]

Have we had the amusingly titled Twenty Four Minutes From Tulse Hill by Carter USM yet?

There are train/railway references throughout, along with a sample of a station announcement at the beginning and a train horn at the end.

What’s an '88 special with automatic doors though? I’ve always thought it refers to a Class 455 but they were out of production by then I think?

 

[GatwickDepress]

What’s an '88 special with automatic doors though? I’ve always thought it refers to a Class 455 but they were out of production by then I think?

Class 319s on the new-fangled Thameslink, I assume? Would have been quite space age compared to the EPBs that mostly worked suburbans at the time.

 

[DustyBin]

Class 319s on the new-fangled Thameslink, I assume? Would have been quite space age compared to the EPBs that mostly worked suburbans at the time.

Of course! To be honest I'd completely overlooked the fact Thameslink was operating services through Tulse Hill at the time.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Have we had the amusingly titled Twenty Four Minutes From Tulse Hill by Carter USM yet?

There are train/railway references throughout, along with a sample of a station announcement at the beginning and a train horn at the end.

What’s an '88 special with automatic doors though? I’ve always thought it refers to a Class 455 but they were out of production by then I think?

In my head I'd always assumed that the "88" referred either to a Southern region 2-digit headcode, or a class 456. I'd not relied on Jimbob and Fruitbat being entirely up-to-speed on their railway knowledge.

 

[DustyBin]

In my head I'd always assumed that the "88" referred either to a Southern region 2-digit headcode, or a class 456. I'd not relied on Jimbob and Fruitbat being entirely up-to-speed on their railway knowledge.

The 456s were built in the 90s so it can't have been one of them.... But yes you're right; I don't suspect they consulted a spotters guide before penning the lyrics!

 

[NetworkGrail75]

From Blur "Parklife" -
"(Tracy Jacks) got on the first train to Walton"

 

[Gloster]

Funiculì, Funiculà by Luigi Denza was composed to celebrate the first funicular railway on Mount Vesuvius. The railway lasted from 1880 until it was destroyed by the eruption in 1944.

 

[Class800]

One from my folk singing days nearly sixty years ago....

Poor Paddy on the Railway

The best version was by Luke Kelly and the Dubliners.

depends on your tastes! I prefer the Ferocious Dog version and have had some amazing circle pits to this live

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jun 2025 ==

Only had time to look through 5 pages of this! But anyone got Cuban Boys - Cognoscenti vs Intelligentsia? The first line is "station announcer" and the line "why don't we all relax and get terribly friendly" sounds like the Newcastle Metro at peak time. Also probably got these ones by Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash and Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips come to mind. Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train? Train in Vain by the Clash - it's about missed connections literally and otherwise. Electric Callboy - Tekkno Train. Someone told me Vengabus - but no, that's no train horn that's a ship's horn! Freya Ridings Lost without you - "standing on the platform". There's also a band called Guardrail.

 

[Ostrich]

Juice Newton's version of "Queen of Hearts"

Midnight, and I'm awaiting on the 12:05, hoping it'll take me just a little farther down the line....

Promo video features a miniature railway.

 

[Taunton]

Early days Pink Floyd with track "Arnold Layne" must have been closet 9F fans - because they keep singing in the chorus about a 2-10-0 ... .

 

[Spaceship323]

Early days Pink Floyd with track "Arnold Layne" must have been closet 9F fans - because they keep singing in the chorus about a 2-10-0 ... .

It takes two to know! That one must be as old as me...

 

[Weary Walker]

Eric Bogle: No Use for Him
About a railway signaller after redundancy.

Chorus:
For they took away his job when they'd no use for him any more
After nearly thirty years they kicked him out the door
But they let him keep his railway jacket, overcoat, and cap
And a pension of nine bob a week, he was lucky to get that
And they nearly broke his heart, when they'd no use for him

 

[Poolie]

c2c have named 357316 the 'Wilko Express' in memory of Wilko Johnson. Nice touch

 

[martin butler]

Under your thumb Godley and Creme

 

[tfw756rider]

Basement Jaxx - On The Train (Crazy Itch Radio, 2006)

I'll be straight with you on the train
They'll never believe it now, we're on our way
I ain't goin' back again
I need it like a hole in my vein, a hole in my vein

~

I don't belong, I got nothing to prove
I'm on the train now, I'm making my move
I don't belong, I got nothing to prove
But I'm on the train now, I'm making my move

Get me on the train
Baby won't you get me on the train
Get me on the train
I gotta get out, gotta get out, gotta get out of here
I'm on the train, I'm on the train now

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Lemon Jelly - '76 aka The Slow Train ('64-'95, 2005)

This one's lyrics pretty much consist of "The slowww traaaiiinnn" repeated

Edit: according to WhoSampled, the "The Slow Train" sample is from The King's Singers - The Slow Train (The King's Singer's Sing Flanders & Swann and Noël Coward, 1977)

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L-Wiz - Line 19 (The Orange Tree, 2016)

Not a song and therefore no lyrics to mention anything, but the title seems to reference the Stockholm Metro (L-Wiz are a duo from Stockholm, Sweden) and the track itself contains just a couple of plays of an electric train departure sound recording at 0:17 and 3:39 (each time preceded by various station sounds/announcements/beeps etc.)