One of her most widely known singles is "Passionate Kisses" (written by fellow singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams), a song with a rock flavor musically and lyrics listing simple desires such as "a comfortable bed", "food to fill me up", and "time to think". Another big hit was "Down at the Twist and Shout", which she performed in January 1997 at Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans.
A number of Mary Chapin Carpenter's songs speak to women, urging them on through hard times or troubled relationships. In "He Thinks He'll Keep Her", co-composed by Carpenter and Don Schlitz, the singer makes the case for strength and self-respect. Another common theme in her music is that of taking life at your own pace, rather than rampant goal-driven materialism, such as "The Long Way Home" from her 2001 album Time*Sex*Love, which pokes fun at a man who "retire(s) at thirty to his big-ass house next to the putting green." The album has a relatively different feel musically, incorporating elaborate orchestra melodies, but with her characteristic lyrical depth.
Her album Between Here and Gone, was released in 2004.
Carpenter's 2007 album, The Calling, on Rounder Records' rock/pop imprint Zoë, features commentary about contemporary politics, a reaction to the impact of Hurricane Katrina on a track entitled "Houston," and an incendiary track entitled "On with the Song", dedicated to the Dixie Chicks, and addressing the visceral reaction to the trio. In less than three months after its release, The Calling sold more than 100,000 copies in the US.
Carpenter has won five Grammy Awards and is the only artist to have won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, which she received from 1992 to 1995. On October 7, 2012, Carpenter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Carpenter is a fifth cousin of the late singer and humanitarian Harry Chapin, along with his brothers Tom Chapin and Steve Chapin.
Downtown
Mary Chapin Carpenter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has punched a hole in the nighttime
I climb through the window and down to the street
I'm shining like a new dime
The downtown trains are full
With all those Brooklyn girls
They try so hard to break out of their little world
They have nothing that will never capture your heart
They're just thorns without the rose
Oh, be careful of them in the dark
And if I was the one
You chose to be your only one
Oh, baby, now, can't you hear me now?
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where every night is just the same?
You leave me lonely now
I know your window and I know it's late
I know your stairs and your doorway
I walk down your street and past your gate
I stand by the light at the four-way
You watch them as they fall
Oh, they all have heart-attacks
They stay at the carnival
But they'll never win you back
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where every night, every night is just the same?
You leave me lonely
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where every night, every night is just the same
All upon a downtown train?
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where every night, every night is just the same?
You leave me lonely
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where all my dreams just fall like the rain
All upon a downtown train?
Mary Chapin Carpenter's song Downtown is a ballad about longing and unrequited love. It starts with the singer looking outside and noticing the yellow moon. She then climbs out of the window and gets onto the street, feeling like a shining new dime. The downtown trains are full of Brooklyn girls who are trying to break out of their little world. The singer warns the person she loves to be careful of those girls who are just thorns without the rose.
The singer then asks if she will see him tonight on a downtown train where every night is just the same. She knows his window, his stairs, and his doorway. She walks past his gate and stands by the light at the four-way, watching people fall and have heart-attacks. They all stay at the carnival, but they'll never win him back. The singer wonders if she will see him tonight on a downtown train where all her dreams just fall like the rain.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of longing, heartache, and the struggles of unrequited love. It also highlights the complexities of city life and the ways in which people try to escape their little worlds.
Line by Line Meaning
Outside another yellow moon
The singer sets the scene by describing a yellow moon in the dark sky outside.
Has punched a hole in the night time
The moon is so bright and vivid that it appears to have punched a hole in the darkness of nighttime.
I climb through the window and down to the street
The singer is sneaking out of somewhere through a window and getting down to the street level.
I'm shining like a new dime
The artist feels confident and attractive, like a newly minted dime.
The downtown trains are full
There are many people trying to get on the trains that run through the downtown area.
With all those Brooklyn girls
The singer notices many girls from Brooklyn trying to make their way in the world.
They try so hard to break out of their little world
The Brooklyn girls are striving to escape their current situation and move into a larger world.
You wave your hand and they scatter like crows
The artist's love interest has a lot of power and control, causing the Brooklyn girls to scatter away like crows when they see them.
They have nothing that will never capture your heart
The artist's love interest is not interested in the Brooklyn girls since they have nothing that will win their heart.
They're just thorns without the rose
The Brooklyn girls may be trying hard, but they are still incomplete without the love and affection of their significant others like a rose with thorns.
Oh, be careful of them in the dark
The Brooklyn girls could potentially cause harm in the dark or in situations where their true intentions are hard to see.
And if I was the one
The artist considers themselves as an option for their love interest.
You chose to be your only one
The singer wants their love interest to pick them as their only lover.
Oh, baby, now, can't you hear me now?
The singer pleads with their love interest to listen to them and consider their feelings.
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
The singer wonders if they will be able to see their love interest on a train running through the downtown area.
Where every night is just the same?
The artist laments about the repetitive nature of the downtown area and how every night feels the same.
You leave me lonely now
The artist feels left alone and abandoned by their love interest.
I know your window and I know it's late
The singer knows where their love interest lives and what time it is.
I know your stairs and your doorway
The singer knows the layout of their love interest's house.
I walk down your street and past your gate
The artist walks by their love interest's street and gate.
I stand by the light at the four-way
The artist waits at a crossroads lit by streetlights.
You watch them as they fall
The artist's love interest watches other potential lovers fail to win their affection.
Oh, they all have heart-attacks
The singer's love interest causes others to metaphorically have heart attacks due to the emotional strain they cause.
They stay at the carnival
Others who are trying to win the affection of the artist's love interest remain in the game and don't give up.
But they'll never win you back
Despite their efforts, the singer's love interest will never reciprocate their affection for the others.
Where all my dreams just fall like the rain
The singer's dreams are shattered and lost like rain falling from the sky.
All upon a downtown train?
The singer blames the downtown train for representing their never-changing life, which has brought about their shattered dreams.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Tom Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@annies8075
A great rendition 👍 ❤
@johnbutcher1710
Best version have ever heard of this song ... love it...
@markhedges1194
A truly lovely cover, of a great song! So great to see you in Birmingham Town Hall in 2007!! x
@joycechenette7640
Best arrangement! So different love it !!
@rjmcallister1888
1996: released on a CD single with two mixes of "Let Me Into Your Heart". Excellent, as usual.
@michaelgiffey5108
Mary Chapin always seems to have the gift of taking classic songs and making them her own. I love this. Will it be on a new album?
@leandrostang4409
Petula Clark - Downtown
@freakadell1
Rachel, that`s true! If you look for Downtown Train.... Look at wolfnheiner, I love it!Best wishes, we can forgt all our Troubles, all our cares!
@rachelwitherspoon4394
This is Downtown, Not Downtown Train.....
@Ma_Ba
Both songs are on Mary Chapin Capenter's channel here on yt. Also, she does a Bruce Springsteen cover that blows the narrative wide open! Highly recommend "Dancing in the Dark."