Downtown Train#Weekly charts
{{Short description|1985 single by Tom Waits}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Downtown Train
| cover = Tom Waits - Downtown Train.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Tom Waits
| album = Rain Dogs
| B-side = Tango Till They're Sore
| released = November 1985
| recorded = {{Start date|1985}}
| studio = RCA (New York City)
| genre = *Rock{{cite magazine|url=https://www.spin.com/2017/12/tom-waits-30-best-songs/|title=The 30 Best Tom Waits Songs|date=December 14, 2017|website=Spin|access-date=December 4, 2024}}
| length = 3:53
| label = Island
| writer = Tom Waits
| producer = Tom Waits
| prev_title = Hang Down Your Head
| prev_year = 1985
| next_title = Hang On St. Christopher
| next_year = 1987
}}
"Downtown Train" is a song by Tom Waits released on his album Rain Dogs in 1985. The promo video for the song was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, it features boxer Jake LaMotta and Neith Hunter.
Rod Stewart version
{{Infobox song
| name = Downtown Train
| cover = Downtowntrainrodstewart.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Rod Stewart
| album = The Best of Rod Stewart
| released = November 1989
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 4:40
| label = Warner Bros.
| writer = Tom Waits
| producer = Trevor Horn{{cite web|url=https://45cat.com/record/722685|title=Rod Stewart - Downtown Train/The Killing of Georgie (Part I And II)|publisher=45cat.com|access-date=September 11, 2020}}
| prev_title = This Old Heart of Mine
| prev_year = 1989
| next_title = I Don't Want to Talk About It
| next_year = 1990
}}
Rod Stewart recorded a cover version that became a number-three hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after being released as a single in late 1989, and was also a number-one single on the album rock and adult contemporary charts. The song went to number one in Canada and made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Stewart received a Grammy nomination for the song in the category Best Male Pop Vocal performance.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 355. Originally released as a non-album single, Stewart's version of "Downtown Train" was included on some editions of his 1991 album Vagabond Heart.
Other recordings
Bob Seger also recorded a version of "Downtown Train" in 1989 before Rod Stewart recorded his version. Seger claimed that on a trip to London he told Rod Stewart he had recorded a version of "Downtown Train" and then one month later Rod Stewart recorded his version. Rod Stewart and his management have denied that Rod Stewart stole the idea from Bob Seger. Seger decided not to release his version in 1989 as originally planned but instead re-recorded it in 2011 for his album Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/472855/bob-seger-to-debut-downtown-train-single-monday|title = Bob Seger to Debut 'Downtown Train' Single Monday| magazine=Billboard }}
Patty Smyth released a version in 1987 that reached number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100. The promo video for the song was directed by David Fincher.
Mary Chapin Carpenter also released a cover version in 1987 on her debut album Hometown Girl.
Everything but the Girl's acoustic cover, also recorded in 1989 and later put on the reissue of The Language of Life, was used for the climactic scene of the 2014's final episode of the long-running series How I Met Your Mother. Music supervisor Andy Gowan says that Carter Bays "basically put it in the script, and wrote that script with that song in mind"; Gowan described the song as "heartbreakingly beautiful" and captured both the "sweet and romantic" and the "somber, dark part" of the scene.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/video-how-i-met-your-mother-finale-music-692622|title='How I Met Your Mother' Series Finale: The Story Behind the Music (Video)|first=Ashley|last= Lee|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 1, 2014|access-date=August 13, 2017|archive-date=August 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813112142/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/video-how-i-met-your-mother-finale-music-692622|url-status=live}}
Personnel
- Tom Waits – vocals, guitar
- Michael Blair – percussion
- Robert Quine – guitar
- G. E. Smith – guitar
- Mickey Curry – drums
- Tony Levin – bass
- Robby Kilgore – organ
Charts
=Patty Smyth version=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1987) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|95|artist=Patty Smyth|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|40|artist=Patty Smyth|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
=Rod Stewart version=
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==Weekly charts==
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1989–1990) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Australia|29|artist=Rod Stewart|song=Downtown Train|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|1|chartid=6644|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Canadaadultcontemporary|1|chartid=6641|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-03-10.pdf|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=7|issue=10|page=V|date=March 10, 1990|access-date=August 16, 2020}}
|25 |
|---|
| scope="row"|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista){{cite book|first=Jake|last=Nyman|year=2005|title=Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja|edition=1st|publisher=Tammi|location=Helsinki|isbn=951-31-2503-3|language=fi}}
|16 |
| {{single chart|Ireland2|13|song=Downtown Train|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade){{cite web |url=https://www.top40.nl/tipparade/1990/week-9|title=Tipparade-lijst van week 9, 1990|lang=dutch| publisher=Dutch Top 40|access-date=March 20, 2023}}
|2 |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|42|artist=Rod Stewart|song=Downtown Train|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|30|artist=Rod Stewart|song=Downtown Train|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|UK|10|date=19900303|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|3|artist=Rod Stewart|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|1|artist=Rod Stewart|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|1|artist=Rod Stewart|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
| {{single chart|West Germany|39|artist=Rod Stewart|song=Downtown Train|songid=6870|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2019}} |
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==Year-end charts==
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=Bob Seger version=
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==Weekly charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (2011) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|17|artist=Bob Seger|rowheader=true|access-date=March 22, 2011}} |
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==Year-end charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (2011) !Position |
| scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2011/adult-contemporary-songs|title=Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2011|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 28, 2019}}
|46 |
|---|
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See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t834064|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic.com track review]
{{Tom Waits}}
{{Rod Stewart songs}}
{{Bob Seger}}
{{Patty Smyth}}
{{David Fincher}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn
Category:Songs written by Tom Waits