Train in Vain (Isaac)

I have always wanted to know more about the Clash. One of the most frustrating things in life for me is the fact that I will never be able to listen to all the music I want. I am glad that Ryan has given me a reason to learn more about the Clash. Train in Vain is effectively an after thought on the album London Calling. On the original release the track doesn't even show up on the list of songs instead it fades in after the last song and fades out at the end. It seems that it was written to be given away as part of a promotional packet in a magazine but the cost was too high and so they tagged on to the end of the album. Train in Vain became one of the Clashes biggest hits. It was the first Clash song to crack the United States Top 30 charts and in 2004, the song was ranked number 292 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.


I love how simple this song is. It is really rootsy. It has elements of country in the lyrics, and blues in the rhythm and harmonica. There really isn't much to this song. Three or four chords and repetitive riff from the guitar and harmonica. The lyrics never actually say the words train or vain but it seems that they named it that to avoid confusion with the Ben E. King classic song Stand by Me which is the other title of Train in Vain. It seems that this song draws on not only Kings Stand by Me but also Tammy Winnettes Stand by Your Man. Train in Vain could be an answer to both songs. In the Ben E. King song he pleads "oh darlin won't you stand by me?" In the Winnette song she exhorts women to "Stand by your man." In train in Vain Mick Jones asks "did you stand by me?" and answers his own question "no not at all." This refain is repeated as if to say emphatically that no you didn't stand by me. Not even when "the walls came tumbling down" or when I had to "keep the wolves at bay. Did you stand by me? No not at all."
It is my opinion that all bands need a good song about a train. Though this song doesn't mention a train it does have a train like drive, something that others have noticed, and like a good train song it talks about waiting in vain for something that didn't come. So this is the Clashes good song about a train and I think that as after thoughts go this was a good one.