As a singer-songwriter, Tikaram scored her greatest hit to date with Twist in My Sobriety, from her debut album Ancient Heart in 1988, when she was 19 years of age. After two years she released her second album The Sweet Keeper, containing songs such as Sunset's Arrived and Harm in Your Hands.
Other albums released by Tanita are: Everybody's Angel, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness, Lovers in the City, Cappuccino Songs and Sentimental.
As of April 2009, Tanita is living in London, England, and is currently recording a new album. Tanita is also releasing free live versions of older songs on her blog. You can subscribe here: http://tanitatikaramblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Glass love train
Tanita Tikaram Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thought it was enough
Riding on that glass love train
When we were??
Dancing as a river
Riding on a glass love train hey hey
You can't stop these wheels in motion
You can't stop this train
Hey hey
When you were a shadow
Following the light
Hiding on a glass love train
Do you feel the same
Everybody changes
Hiding on a glass love train hey hey
You can't stop these wheels in motion
You can't stop this train
Hey hey
When I was in love
Looking through a window
Riding on a glass love train
Will you take my soul
Gentle as a river
Riding on a glass love train hey hey
You can't stop these wheels in motion
You can't stop this train
Hey hey
You can't stop these wheels in motion
You can't stop these wheels in motion
You can't stop these wheels in motion
You can't stop this train
Train train
Train train
Train train
Train train
In Tanita Tikaram's "Glass Love Train," the singer reflects on her past experience with love. She thought that being in love was enough, but as she reminisces on dancing with her loved one, she realizes that everybody changes over time. Despite this, she still longs for someone to take her soul and ride with her on the "glass love train." The repeating chorus emphasizes the idea that once the wheels are in motion, the train can't be stopped- that love, once begun, is difficult to change or alter in any way.
The title of the song is a metaphor for the fragility of love- just as glass is breakable, love can also be easily broken. The singer considers herself and her loved one to be riding on a "glass love train," which implies that their relationship is fragile and can break apart at any moment. The theme of impermanence is repeated throughout the song, emphasized by the lines "everybody changes" and "looking through a window." The window symbolizes a temporary viewing-point, where one can only observe but not engage with the outside.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was in love
During the period when I adored someone
Thought it was enough
At that time, I believed my love was adequate to sustain me
Riding on that glass love train
Floating on the excitement and uncertainty of new love
When we were??
Uncertain of when or if we were ever truly together
Dancing as a river
Falling deeper into the love and exhilaration of the moment
Riding on a glass love train hey hey
Continuing to be carried away by the hope and ecstasy of new love
You can't stop these wheels in motion
The unstoppable force of love and passion is taking over
You can't stop this train
There's no going back now - the feelings are too strong
When you were a shadow
In the past, when you were less present and less committed to our relationship
Following the light
You were following your own path and your own desires
Hiding on a glass love train
Feeling distant and disconnected while trying to maintain the illusion of love
Do you feel the same
Wondering if you share my feelings for you
Everybody changes
People grow and evolve over time
Hiding on a glass love train hey hey
Pretending to be in love even though the real feelings are gone
When I was in love
During the period when I adored someone
Looking through a window
Feeling like an outsider looking in at my own love life
Riding on a glass love train
Floating on the excitement and uncertainty of new love
Will you take my soul
Trying to give everything to the one I loved
Gentle as a river
Being steady and consistent in my love and devotion
Riding on a glass love train hey hey
Swept away by the passionate, dizzying nature of romantic love
You can't stop these wheels in motion
The powerful force of love is impossible to resist
You can't stop this train
The love that has been ignited is too strong to be stopped
Train train
Repeating the central metaphor of the song
Train train
Repeating the central metaphor of the song
Train train
Repeating the central metaphor of the song
Train train
Repeating the central metaphor of the song
Writer(s): Tanita Tikaram, Mark Richard Creswell
Contributed by Isabella N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.