Downbound Train

1984 song by Bruce Springsteen

"Downbound Train"
Song by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Born in the U.S.A.
Released	June 4, 1984
Recorded	May 6, 1982^[1]
Studio	Power Station, New York City
Genre	Heartland rock^[2]
Length	3:35
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)	Jon Landau Chuck Plotkin Bruce Springsteen Steve Van Zandt

"Downbound Train" is a song that appears on the 1984 Bruce Springsteen album Born in the U.S.A. The song is a lament to a lost spouse, and takes on a melancholy tone.^[3]^[4] Author Christopher Sandford described the song as beginning "like a Keith Richards' riff" that ultimately moves to "one of those great country busted-heart lines, 'Now I work down at the car wash/where all it ever does is rain.'"^[5]

The song was recorded on May 6, 1982 at the Power Station at the end of the "Electric Nebraska" sessions.^[1]^[5]^[6] 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 album.^[3]^[7] "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 radio airplay and was featured fairly regularly on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. 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",^[3] and Debby Bull called it "the saddest song [Springsteen]'s ever written."^[3] Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, writing in Glory Days, did not agree, calling "Downbound Train" "the weakest song [Springsteen]'s released since the second album, ... incredibly sloppy ... The protagonist's three jobs in five verses are only symptomatic of its problems."^[7]^[8] 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:^[9]

Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitars
Roy Bittan – keyboards
Garry Tallent – bass
Max Weinberg – drums

Cover versions

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

References

^ ^a ^b Heylin, Clinton (2012). Song By Song. London: Penguin. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
^ Hyden, Steven (August 6, 2020). "The 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs, Ranked". Uproxx. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 82, 97–98. ISBN 978-0-275-98938-5.
^ Masur, L.P. (2010). Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Bruce Springsteen's American Vision. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-60819-101-7.
^ ^a ^b Sandford, C. (1999). Springsteen: Point Blank. Da Capo Press. pp. 194, 226. ISBN 978-0-306-80921-7.
^ "Brucebase, On The Tracks: Born In The USA". Brucebase.wikidot.com. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Marsh, D. (2004). Two Hearts. Psychology Press. pp. 341, 426.
^ Marsh, D. (1996). Glory Days. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-101-8.
^ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-78472-649-2.

External links

Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net

Bruce Springsteen songs

1970s

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.	"Blinded by the Light" "Growin' Up" "Mary Queen of Arkansas" "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" "Lost in the Flood" "The Angel" "For You" "Spirit in the Night" "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City"
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle	"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" "Incident on 57th Street" "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
Born to Run	"Thunder Road" "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" "Night" "Backstreets" "Born to Run" "She's the One" "Meeting Across the River" "Jungleland"
Darkness on the Edge of Town	"Badlands" "Adam Raised a Cain" "Racing in the Street" "The Promised Land" "Prove It All Night" "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

1980s

The River	"The Ties That Bind" "Sherry Darling" "Independence Day" "Hungry Heart" "Out in the Street" "The River" "Point Blank" "Cadillac Ranch" "Fade Away" "Stolen Car" "Ramrod" "Wreck on the Highway"
Nebraska	"Nebraska" "Atlantic City" "Johnny 99" "Highway Patrolman" "Open All Night"
Born in the U.S.A.	"Born in the U.S.A." "Cover Me" "Darlington County" "Working on the Highway" "Downbound Train" "I'm on Fire" "No Surrender" "Bobby Jean" "I'm Goin' Down" "Glory Days" "Dancing in the Dark" "My Hometown"
Tunnel of Love	"Tougher Than the Rest" "Spare Parts" "Tunnel of Love" "Brilliant Disguise" "One Step Up"

1990s

Human Touch	"Human Touch " "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" "Pony Boy"
Lucky Town	"Better Days" "If I Should Fall Behind"
The Ghost of Tom Joad	"The Ghost of Tom Joad" "Youngstown" "The New Timer"

2000s

The Rising	"Lonesome Day" "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" "The Rising" "My City of Ruins"
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions	"Old Dan Tucker" "Jesse James" "Mrs. McGrath" "O Mary Don't You Weep" "John Henry" "Erie Canal" "Jacob's Ladder" "Eyes on the Prize" "Shenandoah" "Pay Me My Money Down" "We Shall Overcome" "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" "Buffalo Gals" "How Can I Keep from Singing?" "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?"
Magic	"Radio Nowhere" "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" "Long Walk Home"
Working on a Dream	"Outlaw Pete" "My Lucky Day" "Working on a Dream" "The Wrestler"

2010s

Wrecking Ball	"We Take Care of Our Own" "Shackled and Drawn" "Death to My Hometown" "Wrecking Ball" "Rocky Ground" "Land of Hope and Dreams"
High Hopes	"High Hopes" "American Skin (41 Shots)" "Just Like Fire Would" "Hunter of Invisible Game" "Dream Baby Dream"
Western Stars	"Tucson Train" "Western Stars" "There Goes My Miracle" "Hello Sunshine"

2020s

Letter to You	"Letter to You" "The Power of Prayer" "Ghosts" "I'll See You in My Dreams"
Only the Strong Survive	"Only the Strong Survive" "Nightshift" "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" "Turn Back the Hands of Time" "When She Was My Girl" "Hey, Western Union Man" "I Wish It Would Rain" "Don't Play That Song" "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" "7 Rooms of Gloom" "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" "Someday We'll Be Together"