At the age of 14 (1957) Danko booked himself as an opening act for ronnie hawkins, & his band The Hawks. Hawkins asked Danko to join his band as a rythym guitarist, though later he would have Danko learn the bass, and by 1960 was Hawkins' bassist.
Around 1963 The Hawks broke away from Hawkins and the members (including Danko) would go on to continue as the Levon Helm Sextet (later renamed to The Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks).
In 1965, Bob Dylan recruited Levon and the Hawks to accompany him on his 1965/66 wold tour. However, Levon Helm chose not to tour with Dylan and was replaced on the tour by drummer Mickey Jones. In 1968, Danko and The Hawks, who had moved to Woodstock, where they began to be referred to as simply "the band," began recording with Dylan in the basement of a big pink house that Danko had rented (and which would soon become famous on its on as "Big Pink"). With Levon Helm back in the fold, they also released their first demo, allowing them to secure a record deal with Capitol Records. Working over the next few months, the five-piece band recorded what would become their debut album, Music From Big Pink. At this time, the group more or less officially changed their name from The Hawks to The Band, this time with a capital "B." Shortly after the album was released, Danko was seriously injured in a car crash, breaking his neck and back in nine places. Though he was laid up in traction for many weeks, he recovered and worked with The Band until 1976, when the group did their final concert at San Francisco's Winterland. The film of the concert, directed by Martin Scorsese, was released as "The Last Waltz" in 1978.
Danko would go on to record solo work on Arista Records, releasing his first solo work in 1977 (his self-titled debut). In the early 1990s, Danko teamed with Jonas Fjeld and Eric Andersen and three albums were released, Danko/Fjeld/Andersen in 1991, Ridin' on the Blinds in 1994, and One More Shot in 2001. Danko released a live album in 1997 (Rick Danko in Concert), and, in 1999, he released Live on Breeze Hill, which featured a new studio version of his much-loved song, "Sip the Wine" (the original version was on his first studio album) and was already working on material for his next work called Times Like These. On December 10, 1999, Danko's heart gave out and he passed away in his sleep. Times Like These was released posthumously the following year.
Mystery Train
Rick Danko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
Well, that long black train take my baby and gone
Mystery train, rollin' down the track
Mystery train, rollin' down the track
Well, it took my baby, people it won't be coming back
Train, train, rollin' 'round the bend
Well, it took my baby, people it won't be back again
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
Well, that long black train take my baby and gone
The opening verse of "Mystery Train" by Rick Danko tells a story of a long black train with sixteen coaches arriving at the station, taking his baby and going away. The train represents a journey, or perhaps even death, as it takes his love away. The repetition of the opening lines and the words "it won't be coming back" and "it won't be back again" add a sense of finality and loss to the song.
The chorus, which is repeated twice, mentions the title of the song, "Mystery Train", and the fact that it's rolling down the track. This again adds to the notion of a journey, and leaves the listener wondering where the train will take the singer's love.
Overall, the song paints a picture of the uncertainty and confusion that comes with losing someone, as well as the sense of longing and sadness that accompanies it. The train is a metaphor for the journey that the singer's love has taken, and the mystery that surrounds it.
Line by Line Meaning
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
A train has arrived and it is long, consisting of sixteen coaches
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
Another train has arrived and it is identical to the previous one, being sixteen coaches long
Well, that long black train take my baby and gone
The previously mentioned long train took the singer's lover and departed, leaving the singer alone and heartbroken
Mystery train, rollin' down the track
A train of unknown destination is traveling down the track
Mystery train, rollin' down the track
The same unknown train still travels down the track
Well, it took my baby, people it won't be coming back
The unknown train in question has taken the singer's lover and will not return them
Train, train, rollin' 'round the bend
Another train is passing around a bend
Train, train, rollin' 'round the bend
The train previously mentioned is still traveling and rounding the bend
Well, it took my baby, people it won't be back again
The previously mentioned train has taken the artist's lover and will not be returning them
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
A third train has arrived, and it too is sixteen coaches long
Train arrive, it's sixteen coaches long
The final train mentioned is the same as the previous two, with the same length of sixteen coaches
Well, that long black train take my baby and gone
The previous train took the artist's lover and left, as before
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Herman Parker Jr., Sam Phillips
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tommy Stephenson
I WAS SO PROUD AND HONORED TO PLAY THE KEYS WITH THESE GUYS........!!!!!
Tommy Stephenson
@Chriss ss Is this Magic Christian?
astraboys100
Well done Tommy you were lucky, you never know how lucky you were looking back!..
Chriss ss
How was that cocaine like??
teacup3133
I think I heard this on the radio once and it made quite an impression. I could never find it , so thank you from my heart.
Paul Rosano
This video captures Butterfield's sound on harp perfectly. What a powerful, commanding and compelling tone. He was the master after Little Walter.
Battosai84
Totally!! Paul is a God among men with that harp!
gian paolo Puglisi
Beautiful !
Thanks a lot
JD Downs
I was at this show. What a wonderful, loose, rollicking band and what a wonderful time. I was a young harp player in awe of Butter with his soaring tone and awesome throat vibrato. Met him after the show and I felt like a green rookie meeting Mickey Mantle. He was a very gracious guy. That disgusting white powder was everywhere in the late seventies and eighties. Frank Zappa at one point said the recording industry had turned into one big cocaine money laundry, and he was only half-kidding. Too bad too bad, RE Lee said. The spirit of music is enough and always was enough. Speaking from very intimate experience, drugs are shit and a fucking lie.
mcmike100
I was there too.