Kay Starr was successful in every field of music she tried, jazz, country and pop. But her roots were in jazz, Billie Holiday, considered by many the greatest jazz singer of all time, called Starr "the only white woman who could sing the blues."
She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz".
Kay Starr was born on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mother, Annie, was of mixed Irish and American Indian heritage. When her father got a job installing water sprinkler systems, the family moved to Dallas, Texas.
While her father worked for the Automatic Sprinkler Company, her mother raised chickens, and Kay used to sing to the chickens in the coop. As a result of the fact that her aunt, Nora, was impressed by her singing, she began to sing at the age of seven on a Dallas radio station, WRR, first in a talent competition where she finished third one week and won every week thereafter, then with her own weekly fifteen minute show. She sang pop and "hillbilly" songs with a piano accompaniment. By the age of ten, she was making $3 a night, a lot of money in the Depression days.
As a result of her father's changing jobs, her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and she continued performing on the radio, singing "Western swing music," still mostly a mix of country and pop. It was while she was on the Memphis radio station WMPS that, as a result of misspellings in her fan mail, she and her parents decided to give her the name "Kay Starr". At the age of fifteen, she was chosen to sing with the Joe Venuti orchestra. Venuti had a contract to play in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis which called for his band to feature a girl singer, which he did not have; Venuti's road manager heard her on the radio, and suggested her to Venuti. Because she was still in junior high school, her parents insisted that Venuti take her home no later than midnight.
Although she had brief stints in 1939 with Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller (who hired her in July of that year when his regular singer, Marion Hutton, was sick), she spent most of her next few years with Venuti, until he dissolved his band in 1942. It was, however, with Miller that she cut her first record: "Baby Me"/"Love with a Capital You." It was not a great success, in part because the band played in a key more appropriate for Marion Hutton, which was less suited for Kay's vocal range.
Night Train
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wlakin' with my baby in my arms
'Cuz I am in the wrong end of the eight ball black
And the devil, see, he's right behind us
And this worker said she's gonna take my little baby
My little angel back
But they won't getcha,
'Cuz I'm right here witcha
Swing low, Saint Cadillac
Tearin' down the alley
And I'm reachin' so high for ya
Don't let 'em take me back
Broken like valiums and chumps in the rain
That cry and quiver
When a blue horizon is sleeping in the station
With a ticket for a train
Surely mine will deliver me there
Here she comes
I'm safe here with you
On the night train
Oh mamma, mamma,
Concrete is wheeling by
Down at the end of a lullaby
On the night train
The song "Night Train" by Kay Starr is a powerful narrative that tells the story of a mother attempting to protect her child from the threatening clutches of the devil and a child worker. The lyrics describe the singer's desperate attempts to keep her baby safe as they travel together on the night train. She is in the wrong end of the eight-ball black; she is in a dangerous situation, and the devil is right behind them. In this world of danger, the singer reassures her child that she is not alone and that she will keep him safe.
The lyrics are full of religious and cultural references. The "Saint Cadillac" and "blue horizon" refer to religious and spiritual symbols that bring hope and promise of salvation. By invoking these symbols, the song provides a sense of hope and resilience in the face of adversities. The lyrics also poetically describe the singer's emotional state as she travels on the night train. Her emotions are broken, like valiums and chumps in the rain. She cries and quivers in a world that is not always kind to her. But the night train provides her with a sense of safety, a haven where she can protect her child and be free from danger.
The meaning of the song lies in its message of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. It is a song about a mother's fight for her child's safety, and how she overcomes the forces of darkness to keep her child safe. It is a song about the power of love, the human spirit, and the hope that we can all find in difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I'm going
I am walking with my baby in my arms
'Cuz I am in the wrong end of the eight ball black
I am in a difficult situation
And the devil, see, he's right behind us
I am in a dangerous situation
And this worker said she's gonna take my little baby
Someone tried to take my baby away from me
My little angel back
My baby is very precious to me
But they won't getcha,
I won't let them take you away
'Cuz I'm right here witcha
I am here with you to protect you
On the night train
We are travelling on the night train
Swing low, Saint Cadillac
We are moving fast on the night train
Tearin' down the alley
We are travelling through the city
And I'm reachin' so high for ya
I am holding you tightly
Don't let 'em take me back
I don't want to go back to that difficult situation
Broken like valiums and chumps in the rain
I feel defeated by my situation
That cry and quiver
I am scared and sad
When a blue horizon is sleeping in the station
The future looks uncertain
With a ticket for a train
There is a way out of this situation
Surely mine will deliver me there
I hope that the night train will take us to a better place
Here she comes
The night train is arriving
I'm safe here with you
I feel safe because I am with you
On the night train
We continue to travel on the night train
Oh mamma, mamma,
I am expressing my emotions
Concrete is wheeling by
We are passing through the city
Down at the end of a lullaby
The night train is like a soothing lullaby
On the night train
We are still travelling on the night train
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEN BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@doloresulanowicz6929
Beautifulvoice
@mikehudson8884
I became aware of NIght Train through Kay Starr.... I love to sing this and exactly in the same style as Miss Kay Starr.
@Johnnycdrums
We used to do it with a front lady and morph into the James Brown version.
It’s a nice up tempo swing morphing into a half-time shuffle.
The speed doesn’t change from a drummers stand point.
@rayzhistorychannel
Would love to have this song blaring from the radio of a black 1960 Impala
@bazthehandyman
No voice to compare.
@guttersnipe7439
now....thats what I call a song
@emr1940
Hoy well the trumpets imitate the sound of the train!
@Johnnycdrums
Great singer, fat horns, nice trumpet shake, and straight eighths on the back end.
@Johnnycdrums
Trumpet boys are hard.
@joniachenbach410
love it!