"Slow Train" is a song by British duo

Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a scho ...

, written in July 1963. It laments the closure of railway stations and lines brought about by the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised British Rail, railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Develop ...

in the 1960s, and also the passing of a way of life.

Lyrics

Midsomer Norton South Station 2122053 b4447ba8

Dunstable, Disused railway near the former Dunstable Town station - geograph

"Slow Train" takes the form of an elegiac

list song A list song, also called a laundry list song or a catalog song, is a song based wholly or in part on a list. Unlike topical songs with a narrative and a cast of characters, list songs typically develop by working through a series of information, o ...

of railway stations which has been likened to a

litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''litan ...

. Its evocation of quiet, rural stations is highly romanticised and uses

imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...

such as the presence of a station

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

milk churn A milk churn is a tall, conical or cylindrical container for the transportation of milk. It is sometimes referred to as a milk can. History The usage of the word 'churn' was retained for describing these containers, although they were not thems ...

s on a platform to illustrate a "less hurried way of life" that is about to vanish: The strength of "Slow Train" is considered to lie in its list of "achingly bucolic" names of rural halts. The nostalgically poetic tone of Flanders' lyrics has been likened to Edward Thomas's 1914 poem " Adlestrop", which wistfully evokes a fleeting scene of Adlestrop railway station in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Although most of the stations mentioned in the song were earmarked for closure under the Beeching cuts, a number of the stations were spared closure:

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at Sun ...

Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...

Ambergate Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent, and where the A610 road from Ripley and Nottingham joins the A6 that runs along the Derwent valley between Derby to the south and Matlock ...

and

Arram Arram is a small (population 200) farming village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the market town of Beverley and east of Leconfield. It forms part of the civil parish of Leconfield. The ma ...

all remain open, and Gorton and Openshaw also survives, now called

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...

. Some stations referred to in the song have since been re-opened, notably Chorlton-cum-Hardy which closed in January 1967, but re-opened in July 2011 as Chorlton tram stop.

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

and

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...

were not threatened by Beeching, though the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

"from Selby to Goole" mentioned in the song was closed to passengers. The other line mentioned, "from St Erth to St Ives" was reprieved, and both stations remain open.

Michael Flanders Michael Henry Flanders (1 March 1922 – 14 April 1975) was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known for his stage partnership with Donald Swann. As a young man Flanders seemed to be heading f ...

' delivery of the lyrics seems to imply that Formby Four Crosses and Armley Moor Arram were station names, but in both cases he combined two consecutive names from an alphabetical list of stations. It has been suggested that he took the names of the stations from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', explaining at least some of the discrepancies between the names in the songs and the names of the stations.

Other versions

In 2004,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

classical quartet Quartetto Gelato released a themed album called ''Quartetto Gelato Travels the Orient Express'', celebrating the original journey of ''

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...

'' and featuring music from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. The album begins with a rendition of "Slow Train", with the final lines changed to reflect the route of the ''Orient Express''. A version of "The Slow Train" by the

King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1 ...

is on electronica duo

Lemon Jelly Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London that formed in 1998 and went on hiatus starting in 2008. Since its inception, the band members have always been Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for awards l ...

's track " '76 aka The Slow Train", combined with a cover of the

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...

song "I'm a Train" also performed by the King's Singers. A live version by

Stackridge Stackridge were a British rock group which had their greatest success in the early 1970s. History Classic period Stackridge Lemon were formed from the remains of a previous band, Grytpype Thynne, by Andy Davis and James "Crun" Walter during 1 ...

was included in its 2009 DVD ''4x4''. Michael Williams' book ''On the Slow Train'' takes its name from the song. It celebrates twelve of the most beautiful and historic journeys in Britain that were saved from the Beeching cuts, including famous routes such as the

Settle–Carlisle line The Settle–Carlisle line (also known as the ''Settle and Carlisle'' (S&C)) is a main railway line in northern England. The route, which crosses the remote, scenic regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, runs between Settle J ...

and less well-known pleasures, such as the four-hour Preston–Carlisle route along the remote Cumbrian coastline. English folk singer-songwriter

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primar ...

included a version of the song on his 2011 compilation album ''

The Second Three Years ''The Second Three Years'' is a compilation album by singer-songwriter Frank Turner, released 18 November 2011 through Xtra Mile Recordings Xtra Mile Recordings are a British independent record label based in London, England. The label was ...

''.

List of stations referred to in the lyrics

Where appropriate, the correct name of the station is shown in brackets. * Ten of the 31 stations were open in 2012, with five others on lines still open. * Trouble House Halt opened in 1959, shortly before Beeching became BR chairman. * Re-opening of the line through Cheslyn Hay in 1989 included a new Landywood station, half a mile to the south. * Kirby Muxloe is regularly proposed for re-opening with the freight-only Ivanhoe line remaining between Leicester and Burton; however, a scheme re-appraisal by Scott Wilson in 2009 suggested there was little likelihood of the line reopening to passengers. * Littleton and Badsey, Chittening Platform and Armley Moor are on lines still open. Chittening and Armley are in the

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

urban areas, and are proposed for re-opening.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Lyrics of "Slow Train"

Flanders and Swann website

Disused railway stations
{{Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann songs Slow Train Slow Train List songs 1963 songs Songs about trains Songs about nostalgia