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John Train

from Honest Living by Matt Wixson

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about

I’m not sure how I decided to write this, but I wrote every part in my head at work one night, and recorded it when I got home. It’s one of those rare cases where I’m able to translate exactly what’s in my head into a recording and it actually sounds good. This song follows “Marching” because it’s about Phil Ochs. Towards the end of his life, he went mad and created a new persona, John Butler Train. He, as Train, claimed to have murdered Phil Ochs. This new persona was violent and filthy, much unlike his former self. The character seemed to lend itself to a country outlaw-type song, so I wrote it as a hybrid of Johnny Cash and the Upsetters. I used my melodica to simulate a train whistle.

lyrics

Well you can see me coming, I’m roaring down the track
My pants are two weeks dirty with a pipe stuffed down the back
A reflection of a life that never quite made history
You all know my old friend Bobby but you don’t remember me
My name is Train, John Train
My name is Train, John Train

If you’re wondering where I come from, brother I’d be glad to tell
Oh I start my biography at the Chelsea Hotel
That’s where I committed murder back in 19-7-5
When two men walked on in, but I’m the one that’s still alive
My name is Train, John Train
My name is Train, John Train

It used to be so easy, no I didn’t need to try
The CIA is after me, so is the FBI
Now I’m wallowing in madness, all the glory days behind
And I thought a little homocide might help me clear my mind
My name is Train, John Train
My name is Train, John Train

Well you can see me coming, I’m roaring down the track
My pants are two weeks dirty with a pipe stuffed down the back
A reflection of a life that never quite made history
You all know my old friend Bobby but you don’t remember me
My name is Train, John Train
My name is Train, John Train

credits

from Honest Living, released September 29, 2009

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Open Hand Records Agawam, Massachusetts

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