Down-and-dirty rocker music is not usually my thang, but dang, Blackfoot can play wicked, boot-stomping rock ’n’ roll – which is right up my alley, especially in today’s featured song, Train, Train. It has a serious train-like rhythm (no surprise there), a drawling blues harp, a shredding guitar riff, and some raw, deep Southern vocals.
According to the article below: ‘When Blackfoot lead singer Rickey Medlocke needed a harp player to open the song “Train, Train,” he called in his granpappy Shorty Medlocke. It was a canny choice – not only can Shorty perform a mean suck and blow on the old harmonica, he also wrote the song‘.
Train, Train is some really intense American Southern rock in the vain of some of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers music. In fact Rickey Medlocke played with an early incarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd and re-joined permanently in the mid-90s. Effectively he remains active in both bands: Blackfoot and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Train, Train was released on Blackfoot’s third album called Strikes. This song and Highway Song were released as singles, reaching No.38 and No. 26 on the US Billboard respectively. They remain the band’s best-known and most successful songs.
Blackfoot originated from Jacksonville, Florida and formed in 1970. The group disbanded in the early 1980s but has reunited a few times since then, the second time including all the original members except Medlocke, who had rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1996.
From Wikipedia:
The band changed their name to Blackfoot to represent the American Indian heritage of its members:Jakson Spires (from Oklahoma) had a Cheyenne/French father and a Cherokee mother; Rickey Medlocke’s father was Lakota Sioux and Blackfoot Indian, and his mother’s side is Creek/Cherokee, Scottish and Irish; Greg “Two Wolf” Walker is part Eastern (Muskogee) Creek, a tribe recognized by the state of Florida, but not federally.
[Intro]
Oh, here it come
[Verse 1]
Well, train, train
Take me on out of this town
Train, train
Lord, take me on out of this town
Well, that woman I’m in love with
Lord, she’s Memphis bound
[Verse 2]
Well, leavin’ here
I’m just a raggedy hobo
Lord, I’m leaving here
I’m just a raggedy hobo
Well, that woman I’m in love with
Lord, she’s got to go
[Verse 3]
Well, goodbye, pretty mama
Get yourself a money man
Goodbye, pretty mama
Lord, get yourself a money man
You take that midnight train to Memphis
Lord, leave if you can
Oh, take that midnight train to Memphis
Lord, leave if you can
Oh, take that train, baby
References:
1. Song Of The Week: “Train, Train” by Blackfoot – 1 2 3 o’ clock 4 o’ clock Rock
2. Blackfoot – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I actually saw Lynyrd Skynyrd in concert in Oklahoma several years back, I did not realize there was that connection to Blackfoot, that is sick!
Oh wow, lucky you. How were they?
Yes, that connection blew me away too. Because I wrote how it sounded like Lynyrd and then upon researching – finding Rickey Medlocke was in the band! Very cool coincidence.
We saw them at Winstar which is a casino so it was a smaller venue which made it feel so much more intimate with them. It was awesome. They were playing some ACDC before they came on.
Awesome. You could do worse than playing ACDC to warm up the concert. Giddy-up lol
The style isn’t usually up my street either, but whoa, when done right, it’s a head-bopper. Thanks for the introduction to this song, Matt. Definite train rhythm for sure… the guitars really kick it along. As for the band, I know some of their stuff from way back, though nothing comes to mind immediately.
Yeh, it’s pretty good isn’t it. I’m so glad you got a kick out of it. I liked their other big hit as well – Highway Song, but it’s quite different from Train, Train. Cheers Steve. Have a good one.
Cheers, Matt. You have a good one, too.
agree with you Matt, there’s a place for this song..