Born into a family of artists, White spent her early years moving from town to town. Her mother was a folksinger, her father a sculptor, grandma was a burlesque performer and auntie was a pop song writer. Grandfather was a poet who favored the sonnet. Drawn to the arts, Simone acted in plays and films, made photographs and wrote. Needing an instrument for the songs she wrote a cappella, Simone taught herself to play guitar.
Moving to NYC from London in 2000, White began to play music onstage. She recorded her first album with producer David Domanich and musician and friend Frank Bango. White released the album, The Sincere Recording Company Presents, in 2003 on Bango's label The Sincere Recording Company.
I Am The Man, her second album, was recorded with producer Mark Nevers, (Lambchop/Calexico/Will Oldham/Silver Jews), in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2006 she was signed to the UK label Honest Jons. I Am The Man was released by Honest Jons/EMI in the UK, Japan, Italy and Holland in 2007 and released in France, Germany and the United States in 2008 through distributors Indigo and Forced Exposure. The album was a favourite with critics from MOJO and Q Magazine to the Daily Mail.
The Beep Beep Song, one of the songs from White's second album I Am The Man was used in an Audi R8 advert in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, South Africa, Sweden and was shown in the half time ad break of the Rugby World Cup Final of 2007.
In 2007 and 2008 White toured in the United Kingdom and Europe headlining and supporting various bands: Nouvelle Vague, Alela Diane, Teitur, Stephen Fretwell and Little Dragon. In 2008 she played at the festivals Greenman and WOMAD in the UK.
White was a part of Damon Albarn's critically acclaimed "Honest Jons Revue" which toured in July 2008 to the Barbican Center in London, Les Nuits Fourviere Festival in Lyon, and the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City. The Honest Jons Revue included the artists Tony Allen, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Damon Albarn, Kokanko Sata Doumbia, Lobi Traore, Afel Bocoum, Candi Staton, Simone White and Victoria Williams.
On 12 June 2009, White's third album, Yakiimo was released digitally, with a physical release following on 22 June 2009. This album was again released through Honest Jons in the UK.
White's albums frequently include covers of songs originally recorded by her friend and collaborator Frank Bango. Such recordings include Roses Are Not Red, Wrong About You, Worm Was Wood and Bunny In A Bunnysuit.
White currently lives in Venice, California.
White's album, Silver Silver, was released in 2012.
She released "Genuine Fake", a collection of acoustic recordings, on 8 September 2017.
Freight Train
Simone White Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Going so fast
Freight train freight train
Going so fast
Please don′t tell what train I'm on
So they won′t know where I'm gone
When I'm dead and in my grave
Place the bottle on my head and feet
Tell em all I′ve gone to sleep
Freight train freight train
Going so fast
Freight train freight train
Going so fast
Please don′t tell what train I'm on
So they won′t know where I'm gone
When I′m dead lord bury me deep
Underneath that old apple tree
I'll be in the fruit you eat
And it will taste mighty sweet
Freight train freight train
Going so fast
Freight train freight train
Going so fast
Please don′t tell what train I'm on
So they won't know where I′m gone
The lyrics of Simone White's song "Freight Train" conjure up imagery of a person on a train, perhaps running away from something or just eager to move on. The repetition of "Freight train, freight train, going so fast" serves to emphasize the speed and urgency of the journey. The singer asks that no one tells where they are going, which could be interpreted as this person wanting to maintain some anonymity or privacy, or maybe just not wanting others to know their business.
As the song progresses, we hear the singer express a desire for a life free from addiction, suggesting perhaps that they are currently struggling with alcoholism. The line "No more whiskey will I crave, place the bottle on my head and feet, tell em all I've gone to sleep" creates a haunting image of a person who has succumbed to their addiction, with the bottle almost serving as a symbol for their enslavement to it.
In the final verse, the singer expresses a desire to be buried under an apple tree, so that they can live on in the fruit that grows there. This is a beautiful and poetic way to express a desire for perpetuity, even after death. It suggests a belief in the cyclical nature of life and the idea that a person can nourish and sustain others even after they are gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Freight train freight train
The singer is observing and acknowledging the presence of a fast-moving train.
Going so fast
The singer emphasizes how quick and unstoppable the train is.
Please don't tell what train I'm on
The singer wishes to keep their whereabouts unknown.
So they won't know where I'm gone
The artist desires anonymity and wants to keep their location a secret.
When I'm dead and in my grave
The artist is contemplating their mortality and eventual death.
No more whiskey will I crave
The singer is acknowledging their dependence on alcohol and accepting that they will no longer have such cravings after they die.
Place the bottle on my head and feet
The singer wants to be surrounded by and reminded of their love for alcohol even in death.
Tell em all I've gone to sleep
The artist wants to be perceived as peacefully resting in death, which is a metaphorical sleep.
When I'm dead lord bury me deep
The artist is repeating their thoughts on their own death and emphasizing their desire for a deep burial.
Underneath that old apple tree
The artist has chosen a specific burial location and requests to be buried under an apple tree.
I'll be in the fruit you eat
The singer is using a metaphor and suggesting that after death their essence will be a part of nature's bounty.
And it will taste mighty sweet
The artist is suggesting that their presence will contribute to the sweetness and goodness of the apples produced by the tree above their grave.
Writer(s): Paul James, Fred Williams, Elizabeth Cotton
Contributed by Stella E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.