"Downbound Train" is a song that appears on the 1984

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

album ''

Born in the U.S.A. ''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984, by Columbia Records. Produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, and Chuck Plotkin, the album was reco ...

'' The song is a lament to a lost spouse, and takes on a melancholy tone. Author

Christopher Sandford Christopher Sandford (1902–1983) of Eye Manor, Herefordshire, was a book designer, proprietor of the Golden Cockerel Press, a founding director of the Folio Society, and husband of the wood engraver and pioneer Corn dolly revivalist, Lettice ...

described the song as beginning "like a

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

' riff" that ultimately moves to "one of those great

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

busted-heart lines, 'Now I work down at the car wash/where all it ever does is rain.'" The song was recorded on May 6, 1982 at the

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

at the end of the "Electric Nebraska" sessions. Like several other ''Born in the U.S.A.'' songs, including " Working on the Highway" and the title track, a solo acoustic version of "Downbound Train" was originally recorded on the demo that eventually became the ''

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

'' album. "Downbound Train" is one of the few tracks that was successfully recorded at the "Electric Nebraska" sessions. Though it was not one of the seven singles released from the album, the song nevertheless gained some

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

radio airplay and was featured fairly regularly on the

Born in the U.S.A. Tour The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's '' Born in the U.S.A.'' album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen; after two years of bodybuildi ...

. It has been performed sporadically in tours since. Overall, the song has been played in concert about 130 times through 2008.

Reception

Author Robert Kirkpatrick contended that "Downbound Train" "might be the best song on the album", and Debby Bull called it "the saddest song pringsteens ever written." Springsteen biographer

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born ) is an American music critic and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has published num ...

, writing in ''Glory Days'', did not agree, calling "Downbound Train" "the weakest song pringsteens released since the second album, ... incredibly sloppy ... The protagonist's three jobs in five verses are only symptomatic of its problems." Other observers analysed it in retrospect as a harbinger, with naturalistic imagery lacing the song throughout in an approach that Springsteen would return to heavily in his Dylan-"Series of Dreams"-influenced early 1990s.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon and the album's liner notes: *

– vocals, guitars *

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

– synthesizer *

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being the bass player and a founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing ...

– bass *

Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' an ...

– drums

Cover versions

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock music, rock band from Carteret, New Jersey. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio lead vocals, (vocals and guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar and backing vocals, vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar and bac ...

contributed a cover of "Downbound Train" to the 1997 album, ''One Step Up / Two Steps Back – The Songs of Bruce Springsteen''. *

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work, music released under the name "Kurt Vile and The Violators," and as the former lead guitarist of ...

included a cover of "Downbound Train" on his EP, '' So Outta Reach''. * '' Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska'' included a cover of "Downbound Train" by

Raul Malo Raul Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band the Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Tr ...

References

External links

Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net
{{Authority control 1984 songs Bruce Springsteen songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Songs about trains Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Steven Van Zandt Song recordings produced by Chuck Plotkin

Reception

Personnel

Cover versions

See also

References

External links