"Train in Vain" is a song by the British punk rock band

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. It was released as the third and final single from their third studio album, ''

London Calling ''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. T ...

'' (1979). The song was not originally listed on the album's track listing, appearing as a hidden track at the end of the album. This was because the track was added to the record at the last minute, when the sleeve was already in production. Some editions include the song in the track listing. It was the first Clash song to reach the United States Top 30 charts and in 2010, the song was ranked number 298 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. In the US, the song's title is expanded to "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)", as the words "stand by me" dominate the chorus. It was titled "Train in Vain" in part to avoid confusion with

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

's signature song " Stand by Me".

Origins

"Train in Vain" was added after the deal for the band to write a song for an ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

flexi disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

fell through, and as Mick Jones later commented, "The real story on 'Train in Vain' is that originally we needed a song to give to the ''NME'' for a flexi disk that ''NME'' was going to do. And then it was decided that it didn't work out or decided the flexi disk didn't work out so we had this spare track we had done as a giveaway. So we put it on ''London Calling'' but there wasn't time because the sleeves were already done." 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, although its title and position on the original vinyl record was scratched into the vinyl in the needle run-off area on the fourth side of the album.

Meaning and inspiration

When the album ''

'' (1979) was released, many fans assumed it was called "Stand by Me", but the meaning of the song's title is obscure as the title phrase cannot be found in the lyrics. Mick Jones, who wrote most of the song, offered this explanation: "The track was like a train rhythm, and there was, once again, that feeling of being lost." The song has been interpreted by some as a response to "Typical Girls" by

the Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

, which mentions girls standing by their men. Mick Jones split up with Slits guitarist

Viv Albertine Viviane Katrina Louise Albertine (born 1 December 1954) is an Australian-born British musician, singer, songwriter and writer. She is best known as the guitarist for the punk band the Slits from 1977 until 1982, with whom she recorded two studio ...

shortly before he wrote the song. The song has often been interpreted to be about Jones' volatile relationship with Albertine, who commented "I'm really proud to have inspired that but often he won't admit to it. He used to get the train to my place in Shepherd's Bush and I would not let him in. He was bleating on the doorstep. That was cruel". The couple separated around the time of the recording sessions for ''London Calling'' (1979).

Critical reception

'' Cash Box'' said that this was Clash's "most commercial effort...to date," saying that "an infectious rhythm has supplanted the three chord guitar attack" and added that Joe Strummer's playing is "more restrained but equally as effective."

Formats and track listings

"Train in Vain" was released in mainland Europe as a 33 rpm single in June 1980 (catalogue number CBS 8370) and included the tracks " Bankrobber" and " Rockers Galore... UK Tour". In the UK, "Train in Vain" was not released as a single at the time; only " Bankrobber" and " Rockers Galore... UK Tour" were released on a 7" single in August 1980 (catalogue number CBS 8323). The song was released in the US as a 10" white label promo in 1979 (catalogue number AS 749). The US commercial release of 12 February 1980 (catalogue number 50851) consisted of a 7" that included the track "

". The 1991 UK re-release (catalogue number 657430 7) included the track " The Right Profile". The formats and track listings of "Train in Vain (Stand By Me)" are tabulated below: "Train in Vain" also features on the Clash albums '' The Story of the Clash, Volume 1'' (1988), ''

Clash on Broadway ''Clash on Broadway'' is a box set compilation album by the English punk rock band the Clash, released on Legacy Records in 1991. It comprises 64 tracks on three compact discs, spanning the time period from their 1977 debut single, "White Rio ...

'' (1991), '' The Singles'' (1991), '' From Here to Eternity: Live'' (1999) (live version recorded on 13 June 1981 at Bond's Casino, New York), ''

The Essential Clash ''The Essential Clash'' is a career-spanning greatest hits compilation album, album by The Clash first released in 2003. It is part of the ongoing 'The Essential' Sony BMG compilation series. The album is dedicated to Joe Strummer, who died durin ...

'' (2003), '' Singles Box'' (2006) (disc eleven — Spanish 7" issue), '' The Singles'' (2007), '' Sound System'' (2013) and '' The Clash Hits Back'' (2013).

Personnel

* Mick Jones — lead vocals, guitar, harmonica *

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

— piano * Paul Simonon — bass guitar *

Topper Headon Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...

— drums, percussion *

Mick Gallagher Michael William Gallagher (born 29 October 1945) is an English Hammond organ player best known as a member of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash. He has also written music for films such as ''Extremes ...

— organ

Charts

Certifications

Covers and samples

"Train in Vain" has become an influential and well-known Clash song, covered by artists as diverse as the British indie dance band EMF, American country singer

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

, and San Francisco rockers

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

. Annie Lennox recorded a soulful, dance-beat cover of the song on her 1995 album ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

'', and performed the song in her appearance during the twentieth season of ''Saturday Night Live''. Drummer and producer

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

of the U.S. rock group Garbage used a drum loop from "Train in Vain" in 1996 for the Garbage song " Stupid Girl". Joe Strummer and Mick Jones received a co-writing credit and royalties from the Garbage song under its original release. In 2007, when the song was

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

for a Garbage greatest hits album, the writing credit for the song named all four members of the Clash.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Train In Vain 1979 songs 1980 singles The Clash songs British rock songs Songs written by Mick Jones (The Clash) Songs written by Joe Strummer CBS Records singles Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Guy Stevens