"One Way Ticket" is a song written by Jack Keller and Hank Hunter. It was originally performed by American singer

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

and popularized by British disco band

Eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

Neil Sedaka version

The track was originally performed by

and included as the B-side on Sedaka's 1959 single "

Oh! Carol "Oh! Carol" is an international hit written by Neil Sedaka in 1958. Co-written with Howard Greenfield, the song is noted for Sedaka's spoken recitation of the verse, the second time around. The song spent 18 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...

". In 1961, the song featured in the track listing of his third studio album, ''

Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits ''Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits'' is a solo album by Neil Sedaka released in 1961 immediately after the cover versions of earlier hits in ''Circulate''. Track listing All tracks composed by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield; e ...

'', but was never released as a standalone single. Despite this, the song made it to number one on the Japanese pop charts, where it was affectionately called "The Choo-Choo Train Song". The lyrics allude to several popular songs of the late 1950s, including "

Lonesome Town "Lonesome Town" is a song written by Baker Knight. A version sung by Ricky Nelson became a hit single in the United States, reaching #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #15 on the R&B chart in 1958. The song was featured on his 1959 album, ''R ...

", "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

", " Bye Bye Love", "

A Fool Such as I "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and was published in 1952. Recorded as a single by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the US country charts early in 1953. Since the original Snow version, "F ...

", and "

I Cried a Tear "I Cried a Tear" is a song written by Fred Jay and Al Julia and performed by American singer LaVern Baker. Atlantic Records released it as a single in 1958, which became Baker's most successful appearance on the record chart hits. King Curtis pl ...

Eruption version

"One Way Ticket" was covered by British

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

band

for their second album, ''Leave a Light''. The song became a big hit in Europe in the first half of 1979, topping charts in Austria and Switzerland, and reaching top 10 across Europe. "One Way Ticket" is now one of the band's trademark hits, along with their cover of " I Can't Stand the Rain".

Track listing

*7" Single (1979) :A. "One Way Ticket" – 3:35 :B. "Left Me in the Rain" – 3:54 *12" Single (1979) :A. "One Way Ticket" (Long Version) – 5:05 :B. "Left Me in the Rain" – 3:54 *CD Single (1994) # "One Way Ticket" (Radio Version) – 3:58 # "One Way Ticket" (Club Mix) – 5:58 # "One Way Ticket" (Never Return Mix) – 5:44 # "If I Loved You Less" – 4:08

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
*

{{Authority control 1959 songs 1979 singles Disco songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs written by Jack Keller (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Frank Farian RCA Records singles Ariola Records singles Hansa Records singles Neil Sedaka songs Eruption (band) songs Songs about trains