"Trains And Winter Rains" is fifth track by Irish musician, songwriter and singer Enya, from her seventh studio album, And Winter Came..., released as a lead single for the album on November 10, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records. It's the only official single that got a physical release and a music video in the album.[1]
Background[]
Quote About The Song[]
Enya: The song ‘Trains and winter rains’ is like a dark winter journey and I think everybody has taken this journey where it’s time to leave home. It’s exciting but because it is the unknown, that’s why we wanted to capture the little dark aspects in both the lyric and in the music. I think that it’s important sometimes to move on. There is a time where people get too comfort in a zone and there’s a risk factor involved but go for it.
- And Winter Came... EPK, 2008
Transcribed by enya.sk
“This track is my personal choice for the first single also” Enya says “I particularly enjoyed our percussion arrangement in this song.”
- enya.com News, 2008
Roma describes the song as a “journey from home that everyone must make when they start to get too comfortable. Enya said: “I find traveling by train gives you time to think and reflect. The rhythm of a train journey is particularly soothing; it allows you to listen to your thoughts, even plan the future, and daydream especially.” Also the gloves in the music video hold a special special significance for her: “I remember wearing gloves for the first time when I left home for College. They were my Mother’s gloves, and a source of comfort. For me, singing the lyric, I put my own memories into it.”
- Top 40, 2008
…less Christmassy moments including Trains and Winter Rains. In the pipeline for around five years,
it is a piece Nicky Ryan is particularly fond of.
“I have been fighting with Enya to do it because there is a riff in it that I really like,” says Nicky. “She wrote the piece and I heard
this funky riff in it and I thought, ‘I want this.’ There is a slight darkness; it has an atmosphere which I love,” he smiles.
- Music Week, 2008
Lyrics[]
City streets passin' by
Underneath stormy skies
Neon signs in the night
Red and blue city lights
Cargo trains rolling by
Once again someone cries
Trains and winter rains
No going back, no going home
Trains across the plains
And in the sky, a star alone
Every time; it's the same
One more night, one more train
Everywhere; empty roads
Where they go, no-one knows
Trains and winter rains
No going back, no going home
Trains across the plains
And in the sky, a star alone
Trains and winter rains
No going back, no going home
Trains across the plains
And in the sky, a star alone
Trains and winter rains
No going back, no going home
Trains across the plains
And in the sky, a star alone
Trains and winter rains
No going back, no going home
Trains across the plains
And in the sky, a star alone
Music Video[]
The music video was directed by Rob O'Connor, and first became available on Enya's official website on 22 October 2008. As well as Enya surrounded by neon light screens and her looking at the city night through a window as a passenger on the train, a few passengers are shown, waiting and moving around a quiet train station. There are a few shots of the New York skyline. The main filming location is London, specifically Canary Wharf and Heron Quays.
Live Performances[]
| Venue | Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Happy Xmas Show (Japan) | Dec 24, 2008 | Lip-synced |
| Sukkiri (Japan) | Nov 27, 2008 | Lip-synced |
| Children in Need Fundraiser (UK) | Nov 15, 2008 | Lip-synced |
| GMTV (UK) | Nov 13, 2008 | Lip-synced |
Charts[]
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) | 15 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) | 39 |
| Italy (FIMI) | 15 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) | 27 |
Trivia[]
- The song premiered on the BBC Radio 2 show Wake up to Wogan on the 29 September 2008.
- The song features Agnus Dei, The Lamb of God, a Christian verse commonly heard in churches. The invocation to the Lamb of God is sung or recited during the fraction of the Host.[2]