The band was originally formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 by friends Merritt and (percussionist/pianist/vocalist) Claudia Gonson. While 1991's Distant Plastic Trees and 1992's The Wayward Bus (now most easily available together as a compilation, The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees) are sung by Susan Anway (b. 1951 - d. 2021), all subsequent albums are principally sung by Merritt himself.
Longtime members include: Gonson, (cellist) Sam Davol, and (banjo player/guitarist) John Woo. Contributors include (but are not limited to) the singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms, and LD Beghtol, and the accordionist/writer Daniel Handler (famous for writing the childrens' books A Series of Unfortunate Events under the alias Lemony Snicket).
Their most popular and best-selling album to date is 69 Love Songs issued on Merge Records as a triple album filled with many fairly short songs that are reminiscent of early Beatles productions.
The album is notable for its employment of many unorthodox musical arrangements and downright impressive quantity of material presented. Instruments used on this album include the ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, piano, flute, xylophone guitars, various percussion instruments, and a standard setup of synths and effects. It features several guest vocalists on several different tracks. The album is a three CD set, released in the US as three separate albums (also available as a boxed set) and in the UK as a triple album.
The album i (2004, Nonesuch Records) continues Merritt's fixation on the concept album, with each of the 14 songs beginning with the letter (and often the pronoun) "I".
The album Distortion, was released through Nonesuch on the 15th January 2008 and introduced noise pop to the array of styles utilized in their music. The album's release was followed by a sold-out U.S. tour starting in February. Additional albums followed in 2010, 2012, 2017, and 2020.
Stephin Merritt is involved in several other musical projects: The 6ths (featuring different guest performers on every track), The Gothic Archies (songs dealing humorously with dark themes) and Future Bible Heroes (with music written by Chris Ewen)
http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/
Fear of Trains
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was the bible train that took her momma too
And that high loud whistle made her horse run away
But the straw the broke the camel's back was you
It was the government train that took away her childhood
It was the KKK that took away her past
It was the white man's will that hers be broken
CHORUS:
Because the world's too cold for a girl like that with a
Blackfoot soul and a cowboy hat
Everything she loved went down the dragon track
She had a fear of trains
BRIDGE:
In the beet fields of Montana
She's always coming on dead rails
To break the plow and whisper "Honey,
Bound to live is bound to fail"
And in a park in San Francisco
Her momma shrieks about the Lord
And down the dead rails there's an echo
The wind is whistling all-aboard
CHORUS
It was the wagon train that took away her country
It was the oil train that took away her land
She could have been the belle of the ponderosa
But that was not the fat man's plan
CHORUS
The Magnetic Fields's song Fear of Trains tells the story of a girl who has been repeatedly let down by various trains throughout her life. The song initially suggests that the girl's father was taken away by the army train and her mother by the bible train. This shows the strong hold the government and religion had on people's lives. The loud whistle of the train even made her horse runaway, yet the "straw that broke the camel's back" was the partner or love interest who let her down. Moving on to the second verse, the song tells us that the government took away her childhood and the KKK took away her past, indicating the harsh realities of racism even today. Even though her will was broken by the white man's will, the girl's barefootedness is a symbol of her mobility and ability to run fast.
In the chorus, we get a sense of the girl's fear of trains, which symbolizes the fear that comes with making connections and depending on people. The girl is portrayed as a Blackfoot soul with a cowboy hat, which suggests that she is a strong-willed individual, but the world is too cold for someone like her. Everything she loved went down the dragon track, which could suggest a path of destruction that follows her wherever she goes.
In the bridge, we see that the girl is always traveling, never really staying in one place for too long. In Montana, she comes across the dead rails and is reminded that "bound to live is bound to fail"; her momma in San Francisco constantly shrieks about the Lord while the wind echoes a whistle-like sound of trains all-aboard. These echoes of the train may indicate that no matter what she does, the girl never really escapes its sound.
Line by Line Meaning
It was the army train that took her daddy from her
Her father was taken away from her by the military
It was the bible train that took her momma too
Her mother was taken away from her by religious organizations
And that high loud whistle made her horse run away
The sound of the train scared her horse and it ran away
But the straw that broke the camel's back was you
You were the final factor that caused her to break emotionally
It was the government train that took away her childhood
Her childhood was taken away from her by the government
It was the KKK that took away her past
Her past was taken away from her by the KKK
It was the white man's will that hers be broken
The white man wanted her to be broken and oppressed
But that barefoot girl could run too fast
Despite everything, she was still able to run away quickly
Because the world's too cold for a girl like that with a
This world is harsh and unforgiving towards a girl like her who has a
Blackfoot soul and a cowboy hat
Blackfoot heritage and a cowboy identity
Everything she loved went down the dragon track
Everything she held dear was lost and taken away from her
She had a fear of trains
Her fear of trains was a symbol of all the trauma and pain in her life
In the beet fields of Montana
She could be found working in the beet fields of Montana
She's always coming on dead rails
She's always travelling on abandoned or unused railways
To break the plow and whisper "Honey,
To take a break from work and whisper to her partner
Bound to live is bound to fail"
She believes that ultimately living is a failure
And in a park in San Francisco
She and her mother could be found in a park in San Francisco
Her momma shrieks about the Lord
Her mother loudly talks about her faith in God
And down the dead rails there's an echo
The sound of the train echoes through the unused railways
The wind is whistling all-aboard
The wind sounds like someone calling out 'all aboard'
It was the wagon train that took away her country
Her country was taken away from her by pioneers traveling in wagons
It was the oil train that took away her land
Her land was taken away from her by trains carrying oil
She could have been the belle of the ponderosa
She could have been the most beautiful girl in her area
But that was not the fat man's plan
However, the wealthy and powerful man did not want that to happen
It was the army train that took her daddy from her
Her father was taken away from her by the military
It was the bible train that took her momma too
Her mother was taken away from her by religious organizations
And that high loud whistle made her horse run away
The sound of the train scared her horse and it ran away
But the straw that broke the camel's back was you
You were the final factor that caused her to break emotionally
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bambooo666
I've had this on repeat pretty much all day...
dbmail545
So glad to hear this covered by such diverse artists. Steven is quite the songwriter.
rotanortan
Whole album underrated as hell.
Gregg I.
I don't listen to MF too much these days, but this album is the one I return to.
Matt Koster
Real Magnetic Fields fans know there is way more to Stephen's genius than 69 Love Songs. And dont forget of all his brilliant side projects.
Muni Math by Peter Felton
I heard The Magnetic Fields play this song live at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA in March 2012. They delivered a magnificent performance!
Ren Hoggard
I just wanted to find out the name for my fear and instead i find my favorite band made a song about it
Smentek Scott
LOve the Magnetic Fields!!
vaguelyhuman
The bridge to this song is so incredibly gorgeous.
Lewis76
bet the fields of Montana don't really compare!