Southbound Train

Album: Fall (2007)
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Songfacts®:

  • Fall is the first of four solo EPs from Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman, each named for a different season. Opening with harmonica and strings to mimic the sound of a train chugging along, "Southbound Train" finds a passenger longing for the woman he loves. While staring out the locomotive's window, he starts seeing her features reflected in the scenes of nature. Foreman told antimusic.com he wrote the tune while on a train from Santa Barbara to San Diego. "Trains are romantic," he explained. "Planes are business cards, cars are like family, but trains feel more like a dating relationship. I live near the train tracks and I wanted this track to feel like a train."
  • This features frequent Switchfoot guest musician Keith Tutt II on cello.
  • Foreman recalls how the track came together: "My friend Jamie [Tworkowski, founder of the nonprofit To Write Love On Her Arms] was staying at my place while we were tracking this. I remember both of us sitting on the carpet listening to either lay this down. I remember we used a pillow and breathing for the percussion." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Noah – USA, for above 3

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