Downtown Train

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title: "Downtown Train" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1985-songs", "1985-singles", "1987-singles", "1989-singles", "2011-singles", "tom-waits-songs", "patty-smyth-songs", "rod-stewart-songs", "bob-seger-songs", "cashbox-number-one-singles", "rpm-top-singles-number-one-singles", "song-recordings-produced-by-trevor-horn", "songs-written-by-tom-waits", "songs-about-trains", "music-videos-directed-by-jean-baptiste-mondino", "island-records-singles", "warner-records-singles"] description: "1985 single by Tom Waits" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Train" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1985 single by Tom Waits ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Downtown Train
cover	Tom Waits - Downtown Train.jpg
type	single
artist	Tom Waits
album	Rain Dogs
B-side	Tango Till They're Sore
released	November 1985
studio	RCA (New York City)
genre	*Rock
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
::

| 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 = | studio = RCA (New York City) | genre = *Rock | 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, which was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and produced by Andrea Ambandos, was filmed in black and white and features a cameo appearance by boxer Jake LaMotta. Several musical artists have charted with their covers of "Downtown Train", including Rod Stewart, Patty Smyth, and Bob Seger.

Personnel

• Tom Waits – vocals, guitar
• Michael Blair – percussion
• Robert Quine – guitar
• G. E. Smith – guitar
• Mickey Curry – drums
• Tony Levin – bass
• Robby Kilgore – organ

Rod Stewart version

| 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 | prev_title = This Old Heart of Mine | prev_year = 1989 | next_title = I Don't Want to Talk About It | next_year = 1990 | misc = 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. 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.

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.

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.

Charts

Patty Smyth version

::data[format=table] | Chart (1987) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Rod Stewart version

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1989–1990) | Peak position | Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) | Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) | |---|---|---|---|---| | 25 | | | | | | 16 | | | | | | 2 | | | | | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (1990)	Position	Canada Top Singles (RPM)	Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)	US Billboard Hot 100	US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)
5
7
37
18
18
::

Bob Seger version

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (2011) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (2011)	Position	US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)
46
::

References

References

1. (December 14, 2017). "The 30 Best Tom Waits Songs".
2. (February 15, 1986). "Downtown Shoot".
3. "Rod Stewart - Downtown Train/The Killing of Georgie (Part I And II)". 45cat.com.
4. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications), page 355.
5. "Bob Seger to Debut 'Downtown Train' Single Monday".
6. Lee, Ashley. (April 1, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' Series Finale: The Story Behind the Music (Video)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
7. (March 10, 1990). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
8. Nyman, Jake. (2005). "Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja". Tammi.
9. "Tipparade-lijst van week 9, 1990". [[Dutch Top 40]].
10. "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990".
11. "Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1990".
12. "Billboard Top 100 – 1990".
13. "Year-End Charts: Adult Contemporary Songs 1990".
14. (December 22, 1990). "The Year in Music 1990: Top Album Rock Tracks".
15. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2011".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::