Live 18 Jan 1971 version
[Spoken intro:] How many of you people know uncle Tom and Upstage over there in Asbury Park. The... stratos— that's up in the stratosphere... (Someone in the band interrupts: "Brother Tom, not uncle Tom"). That's right. That's uh... up there in the stratosphere, and we're in Asbury Park. And, uh, we're gonna a be, uh, doing, uh, what I think is gonna be our last two gigs, uh, this weekend down there, uh, Friday and Saturday night. And, uh, if you can come down, nice to have you come down. It's gonna be upstairs. And the ??? Coffeehouse, over there. Alright. We're gonna take you on a train ride. That is the worst train I ever heard.
Rocking along in a boxcar, still looking for a place to hide
Got a sackful of bills and I'm wanted, I got a rifle right by my side
Now do you hear that whistle blowing, no, or is it just all the wine, I don't know
Lord I don't know how, no stopping me now 'cause I'm going on a train ride
Living on bread and water ain't no life for me
Oh I know, oh no
Broke out of jail in Memphis, yeah, disguised as the warden's wife, ha
Well I killed a man, I killed a man in South Carolina, stabbed him, stabbed him with my knife
Now do you hear them dogs a-barking or is it just all that wine
I don't know how, nothing's stopping me now going on a train ride
Living on bread and water ain't no life for me
Ooh, yeah yeah
'Cause I'm going, and nothing's gonna
Good God, I broke out of jail in Memphis disguised as the warden's wife
Oh I'm gonna get me down to South Carolina, Lord it's gonna save my life
Do you, do you, do you hear them pen-hounds a-barking, is it just all that wine
I don't know how and nothing's stopping me now going on a train ride
Living on bread and water ain't no life for me
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh
I know
I'm running, I'm pushing hard just to find a boxcar, oh I'm gonna get me home
I'm going down to South Carolina, oh I gotta get back home
Now do you, do you hear them hounds a-barking or Lord is it just all that wine
I don't care, that's all right because I'm going, got to get it on a train ride
Going, going, going, Lord I'm going, going on some kinda train ride
Going, going, going, Lord I'm gonna get myself on from going on a train ride
Going, going, going, Lord I'm going, going on some kinda train ride
Going, going, going, Lord I'm going, Lord I'm gonna get myself on some kinda train ride, I know
Going, going, I'm going, going, going, hm, going, Lord I gotta get back home
Hm hm hm, Lord I gotta, Lord I gotta get back home, going on a train ride, I know
Lord I'm going, Lord I'm going, going on a train ride
Hm going, going, Lord I gotta get back home, going on a train ride, yeah yeah yeah
Going, going, going going going, I'm going on train ride, ha hey
I'm going, going, going going going, going on train ride, whoa whoa
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going going going, I'm going on train ride, ??? all aboard
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going going going, I'm going on train ride, I got me ??? at the station
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going going going, I'm going on train ride, yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going going going, I'm going on train ride, going on train ride
I'm going on train ride, going on train ride, going on train ride
Going on train ride, going on train ride, going on train ride
Going on train ride, going on train ride, going on train ride
Going on train ride, going on train ride, going on train ride
I'm going on train ride, going on train ride, going on train ride
Going, going, going
Hey yeah
Da da da da, da da da da, da da da da
Da da da da da-da da da da
Da da da da da-da da da da...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh no
Well I'm going, going on a train ride
I'm going, I'm going on a train ride
Going on a train ride, I'm going
Going on a train ride, going
Going on a train ride, I'm going
Going on a train ride
Going on a train ride
I know, I know, I know
TRAIN RIDE is a song written Robbin Thompson. Bruce Springsteen performed it live with Steel mill in 1970-1971 (see the "Live History" section below), with Robbin Thompson on lead vocals.
The above lyrics are for a live 18 Jan 1971 performance of TRAIN RIDE at D'Scene in South Amboy, NJ, with Steel Mill. Robbin Thompson sang lead vocals on the song.
This was a double-bill show with Steel Mill headlining and Godzilla opening. A very good soundboard recording of the show is in circulation among collectors and is believed to be the entire Steel Mill performance.
TRAIN RIDE is known to have been performed at least 4 times in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates.
Some of the above information about the song's live history is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of TRAIN RIDE on this website:
TRAIN RIDE [Live 18 Jan 1971 version]