Song of the Week, 26 February 2007: BLACK TOP TRAIN

Post messages about Ellis Paul's music, CDs, lyrics, etc. here.

Moderator: Moderator

User avatar
Sue Ellen
Posts: 572
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:09 pm
Location: maryland

Song of the Week, 26 February 2007: BLACK TOP TRAIN

Postby Sue Ellen » Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:56 pm

Blacktop Train
from the album Ellis Paul Essentials

(chorus)
ooo-ooo On a blacktop train, they're rolling like the thunder in a midwest rain
ooo-ooo On a blacktop train, every revolution rides the wheels of change

They poured blacktop two-lane right through the cornfields
Laid a stripe right across my back
The wheels came spinning with the wide-eyed crusaders,
out on a quest for the trail of Jack Kerouac
Silos, scarecrows, American machine,
rev up your engines you're as fast as a train
Oh my Lord, look how the weather has changed
cyclones, dust storms, blacktop trains
cyclones, dust storms, blacktop trains

(chorus)

They're gonna write a new song they blow on by
Start a revolution and blow on by
It ain't ever gonna be the same

They come east coast, west coast, Chryslers and Oldsmobiles
smoke rolling, chrome on the plains
Musicians pull over looking over their shoulders
at Hank Williams, Buddy Holly lighting the flame
Motels, oilwells, truckstop, marines
going to California with their pin-up dreams
Roll down your window, brother, shout out my name
You're on route 66, on a blacktop train
route 66, on a blacktop train

(chorus)

Copyright Ellis Paul Publishing, SESAC


This song is a fun-filled history lesson, using the back-drop of the development of a major cross-country highway to paint a picture of the landscapes and people migrating west, touching on many of the elements that have made this country great. Always a crowd pleaser.
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Postby paddyinthepub » Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:17 pm

Absolutely love this song. Lately, I've come across reviews of AJF and one or two were unfavorable when it came to this song. I don't get it. To me, this is right up there with any of Ellis' Essentials. A real sing out loud singalong song while you're cruising down the road.

I love the little touches Flynn brought to this one, and the vocals by Rachael Davis are amazing. I anxiously awaited the video version of Blacktop Train, back when we got word Ellis was putting it together. I think a photo showed up with EP in front of a green screen. I concur with Ellis and management, didn't quite work. The song deserves way more.

And to the critics who said the production was "too much" or whatever, I whole heartedly disagree. Blacktop Train Rocks.......

"roll down your window, brother, shout out my name"

ELLIS PAUL!!!

:D
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

User avatar
KarenZ
Site Admin
Posts: 4446
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Postby KarenZ » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:42 pm

What a great song. I love all the foot stompin' (especially when it's the EP/Flynn "Blacktop Train" duet). ;) And I love being part of the oo-oo chorus. :) I was watching an Ellis video from last year where Ellis introduced "Blacktop Train" by saying something to the effect that Dylan never wrote a song with oo-oos in it....and that he was taking folk music where it had never gone before. Yep. He sure is. :)

I like the concept of the "Blacktop Train" video, but I wish the images had correlated a bit more with the lyrics....and there wasn't one shot of any kind of Route 66 sign which seems to be a bit of an oversight in my mind....

The lyrics, the images, the music, the fun, Rachel Davis' wailing.....classic Ellis Paul. :)

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.

Richard + Jela
Posts: 1534
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:56 pm
Location: West Sussex, England

Postby Richard + Jela » Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:09 am

Another song from Ellis that paints pictures - you can just see all the people he decsribes travelling Route 66.

In the 'Clarity' thread he responded recently to a question about this song and explained a little about how it came to be written.

I really like the addition of Rachael Davis - she has such a beautiful voice (saw her live at Newport a few years ago and her voice just captivated the whole audience).

Placing this song first on AJF is a neat move - it kinda sets you up for the rest of the CD.

Yes, another winner from Mr Paul.

Jela

wendy
Posts: 357
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:59 pm
Location: Boothbay, Maine

Postby wendy » Thu Mar 01, 2007 12:25 pm

Yup, I love this song, too.
My favorite aspect is the the temporal and spatial journey it describes. I never get tired of following the threads... and hearing it live, unplugged with the audience providing percussion? It just doesn't get any better than that. Ahhhhh.....
-wendy


Return to “Breakin' Through the Radio”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 27 guests