Train in Vain
| "Train in Vain" | |
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| Song |
"Train in Vain (Stand by Me)" is a song off the album London Calling (1979) by the U.K. punk/rock band The Clash. The song was not originally listed on the album's track listing, appearing as a secret track at the end of the album. This was unintentional however, as the reason for it was that the track was added to the record at the last minute, when the sleeve was already in production. It was the first Clash song to crack the US Top 30 charts.
Origins
The song was written in one night and recorded the next day, near the very end of the recording for London Calling. It was initially intended to be given away as a promotion with the British rock magazine New Musical Express.
Wessex Studios' manager and house engineer Bill Price points out that "Train in Vain" was "the last song we finished after the artwork went to the printer." Several Clash websites describe it as a hidden track, but it was not initially intended to be hidden; it simply could not be added to the artwork after the printing. The song was added to the end of the master tape just before it was sent off to be set to vinyl.
"Train in Vain" was added after the deal for The Clash to write a song for an NME flexi disc fell through, and as Mick Jones commented "This is a bit too good to give away on the NME". The result of its late addition was that it was the only song without lyrics printed on the insert, and was not listed as a track.
A commomly held theory is that the band was torn over releasing such a mainstream single. Fans cite the song as the beginning of the rift between Joe Strummer and Mick Jones over The Clash's musical direction[citation needed].
Meaning and inspiration
The meaning of the song's title is obscure. No train is mentioned in the song. Mick Jones, who wrote most of it, offered this explanation: "The track was like a train rhythm, and there was, once again, that feeling of being lost."
"Train in Vain" is a love song, with an almost country-and-western lyric that echoes Tammy Wynette’s classic, "Stand By Your Man." Musically, parts resemble J.J. Jackson's 1966 UK/American hit single "But It's Alright."
Singer Joe Strummer has said that "I was drenched in blues and English R&B as a teenager, then I went to black American R&B with my group the 101ers. Mick had heard a lot of that stuff too, and he had this extra dimension of the glam/trash New York Dolls/Stooges scene."
Trivia
In the U.S., the song's title is expanded to "Train in Vain (Stand By Me)"; the words 'stand by me' dominate the chorus. It was titled "Train in Vain" in part to avoid confusion with Ben E. King's signature song called "Stand By Me".
The song "Stupid Girl" by US rock group Garbage is completely built around the drum rhythm from "Train In Vain". Joe Strummer and Mick Jones receive a co-writing credit and royalties from the song.
The song has been covered by EMF, Dwight Yoakam, The Manic Street Preachers, Annie Lennox, Third Eye Blind and The Black Crowes.
This song appeared on the skate video Almost: Round Three.
This song also appeared in the film You, Me, and Dupree.