This predominantly Glaswegian act became one of the top-selling UK bands of the late 1980s/early 1990s. The group's members were Ricky Ross, Lorraine McIntosh, James Prime, Dougie Vipond, Ewan Vernal and Graeme Kelling.
Ross, a former school teacher originally from Dundee, was the group's frontman, penning the vast majority of Deacon Blue's songs. He married female vocalist Lorraine McIntosh in the later years of the band's career. McIntosh, born May 1964 in Glasgow joined the band in 1987 as a vocalist.
The band's first album, Raintown, produced by Jon Kelly and released in 1987, is regarded by many as the band's finest effort, spawning the singles "Dignity", "Chocolate Girl" and "Loaded". Many consider Raintown to be a concept album, since nearly all the songs contribute to the overall theme of being stuck in a dead-end life in a deprived city longing for something better. The city that the album's title refers to is Glasgow, and the memorable cover art of the album is a shot of the River Clyde's docks taken on a miserable day from Kelvingrove Park.
The second album, 1988's When The World Knows Your Name, was the band's most commercially successful, with the mega-selling singles "Real Gone Kid", "Wages Day" and "Fergus Sings The Blues". However, music critics began deriding the band at this stage for pursuing commercial success over artistic quality, citing the earlier achievements of Raintown.
Jon Kelly returned to the producer's chair in 1991 for Fellow Hoodlums, and the album was met with more critical success, but by now the group's honeymoon period was over and their success started to wane. This album was followed up with Whatever You Say, Say Nothing in 1993, a much more experimental album which gained praise from the critics, but was a commercial failure.
The band released a Greatest Hits compilation the following year.
With Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour for a career in television, Deacon Blue split up in 1994.
Five years later, the band held an unexpected reunion gig in 1999, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis.
The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001.
Though Graeme Kelling died from cancer in 2004, the band has vowed to continue in his absence.
The year 2006 saw Deacon Blue returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album - including the track "Bigger than Dynamite".
The band performed at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, as the pre-match entertainment for the Rugby League Super League Grand Final on the 14 October, and continued on to a full UK tour in November.
The album The Hipsters was released in 2012.
http://www.deaconblue.com/, followed by A New House, Believers, City of Love and Riding On The Tide Of Love.
In 2023 the band released a greatest hits set titled "All The Old 45's" along with a box set of all their albums titled "You Can Have It All".
This Train Will Take You Anywhere
Deacon Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Crawling through the undergrowth
Stand by the railing
And look along
Put your ear to the ground
Listen for a while
Till all the tracks start
Humming and buzzing
And it's louder than the drums
'Cause it's tons and tons and tons
Of steel going faster
Now maybe I'm on the bridge
And near the very edge
And I'm waiting for the train
To pass under
It's got fifteen carriages
Each one saying what it is
This is bigger than anything
That'll ever go past you
It drowns out what you say
And it blows the dust away
And it makes it's own way
We can't stop it
This train will take you anywhere
This train will take you anywhere
You want to go
I'm on the border
Berlin to Warsaw
I can't tell the things I saw
You'd see them anyway
It's the same where you go
Hanol to Bangalore
From Belize to Bogato
You can ride on
Get on at the platform
Keep your eyes on the land
And see the colors all change
And the world all open
This train will take you anywhere
And you can see anything
You can sleep or you can imagine
This train will take you anywhere
You want to go
The song "This Train Will Take You Anywhere" by Deacon Blue is a metaphorical representation of life's journey, with a focus on the transient and limitless nature of the experience. The lyrics use the imagery of a train to symbolize the different stages of life and its unpredictability. The track starts with the sound of humming and buzzing emanating from the tracks as the train approaches, and the lyrics encourage the listener to listen to the rhythmic sounds of life that hint at what's to come.
The second part of the song describes the experience of watching the train roll by, with its fifteen carriages each labeled with its content, as if each carriage represents a chapter in the journey of life, its contents significant but ultimately nothing compared to the magnitude of the passing train. The train's roar drowns out any attempt to communicate, emphasizing the overwhelming nature of life's journey.
The last part of the song explores the global nature of the journey of life, with the train symbolizing the diversity and expansiveness of experiences available to everyone. The song's chorus serves as an inspirational message, reminding listeners that they can go anywhere they want and see anything they want by hopping on this mystical train of life.
In summary, the song is an ode to the journey of life, with the train symbolizing the unpredictability, dynamism, and limitless nature of the experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Down by the beach road
At the side of the road near the beach
Crawling through the undergrowth
Moving slowly through the bushes and plants
Stand by the railing
Stand by the fence
And look along
Look in the direction of the view
Put your ear to the ground
Listen carefully
Listen for a while
Listen for some time
Till all the tracks start
Until the sound of the tracks begin
Humming and buzzing
Making a low continuous sound
Then the roar comes
Then comes a loud sound
And it's louder than the drums
It's louder than the sound of the musical instrument drums
'Cause it's tons and tons and tons
Because it's very heavy
Of steel going faster
It's a fast-moving train made of steel
Now maybe I'm on the bridge
I could be on a bridge
And near the very edge
And close to the very side
And I'm waiting for the train
I'm waiting for a train to pass under the bridge
To pass under
To go under the bridge
It's got fifteen carriages
It has fifteen train wagons attached to each other
Each one saying what it is
Each one marked to show its identity
This is bigger than anything
This train is larger than everything else you see
That'll ever go past you
That will ever cross your path
It drowns out what you say
It's so loud that you can't hear what you say
And it blows the dust away
It carries away dust with its force
And it makes it's own way
It moves on its own path
We can't stop it
We can't make it stop or slow down
This train will take you anywhere
This train can take you to any destination
This train will take you anywhere
This train can take you to any destination
You want to go
You can pick any destination you desire
I'm on the border
I'm on the boundary between two countries
Berlin to Warsaw
Traveling from Berlin to Warsaw
I can't tell the things I saw
I cannot express enough how beautiful the sights were
You'd see them anyway
You will witness them regardless
It's the same where you go
The things you see will always remain the same everywhere you go
Hanol to Bangalore
Traveling from Hanol to Bangalore
From Belize to Bogato
Traveling from Belize to Bogota
You can ride on
You can continue to ride the train
Get on at the platform
Board the train at the designated train station
Keep your eyes on the land
Observe the geography and scenery as you go along
And see the colors all change
You'll see an array of colors that will continue to change
And the world all open
The world is an open book waiting to be read
You can sleep or you can imagine
No matter what you prefer, you can either rest or let your thoughts wander
This train will take you anywhere
This train can take you to any destination
And you can see anything
You can witness anything you desire
You can sleep or you can imagine
No matter what you prefer, you can either rest or let your thoughts wander
This train will take you anywhere
This train can take you to any destination
You want to go
You can pick any destination you desire
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL SLAVEN, RICKY ROSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nigel Smith
on Long Window To Love
This whole explanation is completely wrong. The song is about the Labour Party not winning a general election