The trio's recording for MWC (Music World Creations, founded by the band's manager, Mel Shaw) of Dodson's "Carry Me" was a major Canadian hit in 1971. It was followed the same year by his "Sweet City Woman", an international hit. As a result The Stampeders received the 1971 Juno Award as vocal and instrumental group of the year. Other hits included "Devil You" (1971) and "Hit the Road Jack" (1975), both popular in the USA, as well as "Monday Morning Choo Choo" and "Then Came the White Man" (1972), and "Oh My Lady" and "Minstrel Gypsy" (1973).
The Stampeders were one of the top touring bands in Canada during the 1970s and appeared in TV specials on the CBC and Global networks. They also toured widely in the USA (where, in 1974, they were the only Canadians to perform at the American Song Festival, held at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., seen on ABC TV) and performed in Brazil in 1972 and in Europe in 1972 and 1973. They were especially popular in the Netherlands, where they along with Beach Boy Carl Wilson won an Edison Award in 1973 for their first European LP (a combination of their first two Canadian LPs).
In 1976 a second drummer and a three-man brass and reed section were added. In December of that year, however, Dodson left to pursue a solo career, subsequently establishing the Marigold label in Toronto and enjoying some success in the 'adult contemporary' market with "Give You That Love", "Cruel Emotion", "No Time to Say Goodbye" (1984) and "Lookin' Back" (1985). Berly left The Stampeders in 1978, at which point King switched to guitar and was joined by his brother Roy (bass guitar) and two other musicians; the band continued for a time as The Stampeders Featuring Ronnie King. The Stampeders continue to tour every summer.
Monday Morning Choo Choo
The Stampeders Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is leaving with my shoe shoe
Taking all my everything away, today
And that Monday morning sunshine
Might as well be night time
Cause I'm feel so sad and I'm going to end that mood.
All I feel like crying
Ohhh ohh
I guess I'm destined to be
Plain neglected and rejected
Tell the whole wo world about you
Of that Monday morning choo choo
Is leaving with my shoe shoe
I'm standing on track nine
Those are the lunchtime blues
Ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah
Oh oh
I guess I'm destined to be
Plain neglected and rejected and tell them whole wo world about you
Of that Monday morning choo choo
Is leaving with my shoe shoe
I'm standing on track nine
Those are the lunch time blues
Do do do do do dooo do
Do do do do do dooo
Do do do do dooo do doo doo dooo do dooo
The Stampeders' song Monday Morning Choo Choo is a melancholic lamentation about heartbreak and rejection. The singer is feeling dejected and depressed because he has just seen his lover leave him on the Monday morning train, taking all his possessions with her. The lyrics talk about how the bright sunshine of the morning feels like night time to him because of his emotional state, and how he feels like crying and dying. The singer feels like he is meant to be neglected and rejected, and he vows to tell the whole world about his sorrow.
The repeated refrain of the chorus underscores the central theme of the song, which is the singer's failure to hold onto his love. The use of the word "shoe shoe" is a clever pun on "you you," suggesting that the singer feels like a part of him is being taken away with his lover, leaving him feeling empty and alone. The railway imagery, with its connotations of distance and departure, serves as a metaphor for the singer's emotional state, emphasizing his feeling of loss and loneliness. Overall, Monday Morning Choo Choo is a deeply personal and emotional song that speaks to the universal experience of heartbreak and rejection.
Line by Line Meaning
That Monday morning choo choo
The train leaving on Monday is a symbol of change ahead.
Is leaving with my shoe shoe
The train is taking my possessions and all things familiar as I embark on this journey of change.
Taking all my everything away, today
The train is taking away everything and starting anew.
And that Monday morning sunshine
The bright sunshine does not reflect my inner feelings.
Might as well be night time
The darkness of night feels less harrowing than my current emotions.
Cause I'm feel so sad and I'm going to end that mood.
I need to break out of this sad mood and move on from what's holding me back.
All I feel like crying
I am overcome with emotion and feel like shedding tears.
All I feel like dying
The weight of this change makes me feel like giving up entirely.
I guess I'm destined to be
I feel as though I am meant to suffer in this way.
Plain neglected and rejected
I feel as though I am overlooked and rejected by those around me.
Tell the whole wo world about you
I will let everyone know how I feel and about what has happened to me.
I'm standing on track nine
I am standing in the midst of my own life journey.
Those are the lunchtime blues
I am experiencing a deep sense of melancholy which reminds me of the difficult times during lunch.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: RICHARD DODSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
BarneyR
on Carry Me
Ah great, I thought my comments would just be placed right where the intro chords are listed... so let me expound further.
To be honest, this song doesn't exactly have a verse-chorus-verse (even if the "Here I'm tied down and homesick" section has the identical lyrics each time it's played), as the "Carry me" lyrical/vocal hook would therefore be in the "verse" (which would also provide the complete cadential resolution, as the "Here I'm tied down and homesick" basically ends in a half-cadence). To be more precise, it's more of a verse-verse-bridge-verse (similar to Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" in song structure, for a well-known example).
Intro: A D A D
Verse: A D A D A D Bm D E
Verse (repeated): A D A D A D (F#m/C#) Bm D E
Bridge: A D A D D (F#m/C#) Bm D E
Verse (shortened): A D A D A Bm
Intro (repeated before "solo"): A D A D
Solo: B E E B B E E B B E E B B E E
Bridge: A D A D D (F#m/C#) Bm D E
Verse: A D A D A D Bm D E
Verse (shortened): A D A D A Bm
Intro (repeated before "solo"): A D A D
Solo: B E E B B E E B B E E B B E E B B E E B... (faded)
BarneyR
on Carry Me
Bb Eb Bb Eb