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Michelle Shocked — If Love Was a Train
Album: Short Sharp Shocked
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 574









Released: 1988
Length: 4:01
Plays (last 30 days): 0
If love was a train
I think I would ride a slow one
One that would ride thru the night
Making every stop
If love was a train
I would feel no pain and I would never get off

If love was a train
I think I would ride me a long one
Hear me talking
I'm talking fifty boxcars long
Aw, what's the use?
Most trains these days
Ain't got no engine
Much less a caboose woo woo!

Look out here she comes
Look out there she goes

If love was a train
I'd throw my body on her tracks
If love was a train
I'd throw my body right down on her tracks
If love was a train
I would feel no pain
As she rolled right down my back

But love ain't no train
More like a broncing bull
And the most you get's 15 seconds
In that saddle
And even if you manage to ride
You are all shaken up inside
And it's gonna be a long time
Before you ride that bull again

If love was a train
But love ain't no train...
Comments (117)add comment
forgot about this one. even better now. thanks RP
 themusicroob wrote:
Reading the comments from five years ago, I was intrigued and googled the event in question. It didn't take more than five minutes to find that her comments were totally twisted and misinterpreted, and even that she predicted they would be. From what I can see, she's totally against any form of homophobia, and was basically pitying those who hold those beliefs.

Just a thought, when you hear that someone's said something incendiary, is it possibly worth the 30 seconds it takes to find out what they actually said before passing comment, instead of playing into the hands of cynical journalists who'll take every word out of context to make a quick buck by making people angry and hateful?

Great song.
 
Thanks for that. We're all too knee-jerk these days.
Reading the comments from five years ago, I was intrigued and googled the event in question. It didn't take more than five minutes to find that her comments were totally twisted and misinterpreted, and even that she predicted they would be. From what I can see, she's totally against any form of homophobia, and was basically pitying those who hold those beliefs.

Just a thought, when you hear that someone's said something incendiary, is it possibly worth the 30 seconds it takes to find out what they actually said before passing comment, instead of playing into the hands of cynical journalists who'll take every word out of context to make a quick buck by making people angry and hateful?

Great song.
Good Gawd folks, the song was great when first released, it's still good now.

For her to show up in Frisco and make that rant,...well, somethings wrong there, right?! Does anyone suppose that she might be in a slightly diminished capacity?! That she could be or has broken down in some way?! Is anyone really thinking this through? Because if it doesn't look right and doesn't sound right clearly there must be something wrong!
Add me to the list of those disgusted by this bigot. Please don't provide her any more attention or income (some of which comes from my contributions to RP).
Surprised you guys played her today.
Her recent anti-gay tirade is inexcusable and ignorant. Why are you giving her air time?
Perhaps it was a clever scheme to get comments? If so, it worked. This is the first time I've ever stopped by to comment on your boards. {#Mad}
Love RP, keep up the good work, promise not to play any more Michelle Shocked and I promise I'll visit the Website more often. Deal?
Yeah — a great song — but personally, I can't listen to her music anymore given her most recent vocalization about her personal politics re: gay marriage. She exudes ignorance, bigotry,and hatred in what she said in San Fran at hear last concert. I boycott Michelle Shocked, and I think RP should, too.
Very weird. I have always liked her but she appears to have gone off the deep end:

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1552539/michelle-shockeds-tour-vanishes-following-anti-gay-comments
In the same year:
My room mate had a poster of Michelle on his wall, I asked him to play me some; I said "God this sounds like the kinda music my Dad likes!"

And yes I still feel too young for this.


 
catnip wrote:
Saw her do this live in 1988, in the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, one of the best gigs I've ever seen.

God, I feel old. 
 

Personally, I'd like to see her removed from the play list, but that's just me... and all my gay friends and family....
surprised to hear her today given all the press she's made for herself recently...
Michelle Shocked Controversy Continues: The Damning Audio Transcript

After her recent homophobic comments, I'm going to have to say no.
After her recent anti-gay rant, she should be banned from RP.
this song just hit me the right way today. I am bumping my rating from a 72 an 8.
Saw her do this live in 1988, in the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, one of the best gigs I've ever seen.

God, I feel old. 
...AHHH,..come on,bill.....WHAT a set:

Michelle Shocked - If Love Was a Train
Ray LaMontagne - Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a shame)
Chris Isaak - Round 'n' Round

.....my ass gets tired from shaking.....thanx.....funny.......
 Proclivities wrote:
  Since when does blues or R&B concern itself with exact grammar, anyhow?
 
Hear hear!  Are you seriously telling that a song called "I Can't Get Any Satisfaction" wouldn't suck? Rock 'n roll is not a corporate memo.  It's a basic mistake - the genre determines the level of formality needed.

 
Dyn-o-mite !
 
This takes me back ... 1990? Let's hear more from this album - it's all good.
Love this.  Lyrics are clever and funny and it's a really rocking piece.
Me Shell Shocked.
bring it on into the station now.
Damn... I think I ..Ummmm I have to go clean up now...
Wow.. that was a sexy cut!...
Awesome RP! Great to hear MS.
Reminds me of a solo weekend camping trip.  Well, solo as in me, my tent, my guitar, a case of beer, a boom box with CD player and Michelle Shocked!
"If love was a train, I'd never get off" ... I'd rethink this metaphor, hun.
I would love to hear a LOT more Michelle Shocked on RP
 Proclivities wrote:

You can't dance to this?  Turn up your speakers.

 
Couldn't agree more - astounding to hear that comment.

 Cynaera wrote:
Apart from all the grammatical pick-aparts, I still don't favor this song as one of her best. Not rating it, because I just can't dance to it.
 
You can't dance to this?  Turn up your speakers.

Yes, grammatically, it should be "were" (subjunctive) instead of "was" (indicative), but "was" sounds better in the flow of the song.  Since when does blues or R&B concern itself with exact grammar, anyhow?



It's got a nice beat, I can dance to it, and it's good-time boogie woogie.  I'm getting on the Love Train!
Love IS a train....sing it Michelle!
Love this CD and this song, even though it's pretty out of character with the rest of the songs on the album. MS has a voice that would fit well with more like this.... And, I agree, Pete Anderson's guitar work on this song is perfect, tasteful, makes you want to shout how good it is.

Love=Train?

10!
MoJo Movin' Music . . . Dig It . .
I love trains. I love love. I love Michelle Shocked.
So..."love" are plural?
 

Yes, as a matter of fact, love are plural. {#Daisy}
 RedGuitar wrote:
Who's playin' that electric guitar?
 
that's pete anderson.  we used to go to any dwight yoakum concerts( in the 80's) within a 200 mile radius just to hear him play. he's all  that.           good times/cheap gas 

 RedGuitar wrote:
Who's playin' that electric guitar?
 
That's a good question and I'm glad you asked. It's Dwight Yoakam's right-hand man, Pete Anderson, who is the producer on this album.
Hell yeah!  Sing it for us!!!!! Love it!
Love this song!
{#Dancingbanana}
But if you ride a long one and a slow one, what's the point, if you never get off?

;)
Never heared this before, very, very nice sound!
Sounds a LOT like "When I grow up..."

Who's playin' that electric guitar?
Apart from all the grammatical pick-aparts, I still don't favor this song as one of her best. Not rating it, because I just can't dance to it.
If Michelle Shocked was a train I think I would jump off.
That never made sense to me either.

 scott_bruce wrote:

So..."love" are plural?
 


 lsherida wrote:
1.)  This song sucks.
2.)  If love were a train.
 
So..."love" are plural?

COOL LADY!!{#Fire}


 sqqqrly wrote:
"Michelle Shocked" was a play on words intended to resemble the phrase "shell shocked."  



You don't say.  Never would have figured that out.
 wenatchee wrote:
 . . . If I was a train "I'd bring'r into the station" . . .   ;-)
 

like bringing the fishboat to the cannery?
the log to the beaver?

(Grumpy Old Men)
1.)  This song sucks.
2.)  If love were a train.
 . . . If I was a train "I'd bring'r into the station" . . .   ;-)
Love it!
"Further on up the road . . . "
I just realized while listening to this song that I know another of her songs - V.F.D. - from a mixed CD one of my professors gave me for college graduation.  Didn't realize who it was by.  Fantastic!  Love the style and the voice.
 . . . ain't it fun!   :-)
E_A_D_G wrote:
Good stuff. Walking bass line 101. Class dismissed.
 

I love the "walking bass line" too, but isn't it essentiually the same as "when I grow up"?

 

excellent quality and performance of the musicians of the band support (14 elements include Michelle) and the personal register technician (8 elements);

a word of prominence for what it represents the content of the songs and attitude of Ms. Karen Michelle Johnston.

** 7  / 8 **




I saw her last night @ NightFall in Miller Plaza       awesome show ,,,,great human-being

infinity wrote:
dumb pseudonym, not that great of a blues singer... 6. Otherwise nice song minus the vocals.
The singer's name dates back to the one she gave when arrested in 1984 at a protest called "The War Chest Tour" during the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California. The demonstration challenged the practice of U.S. corporations giving campaign contributions to both Democratic and Republican parties, thus benefiting from political favors regardless of which party is elected. "Michelle Shocked" was a play on words intended to resemble the phrase "shell shocked." The front cover of one of her best-known albums, Short Sharp Shocked, shows her restrained by the chokehold of a San Francisco policeman in a front-page photograph published by the San Francisco Examiner the following day.
Michelle rocks!
i had a chance to dance with her at antoines in austin and i was too shy !! aaaaaaah garble
Michelle Shocked is forever interesting and often is a funny story teller. Awesome live! Everything I have from here on my ipod gets played and played, new and older stuff
dumb pseudonym, not that great of a blues singer... 6. Otherwise nice song minus the vocals.
MICHELLE SHOCKED FOR PRESIDENT
pescivendolo wrote:
"...and it's in that context that the recent decision to raise the internet broadcasting rates is seen as an encouragement to creativity and independence."
I've heard music on RP that I otherwise never would have heard. I've purchased music that I was introduced to by RP. If sites like RP start going away, these smaller artists are going to suffer.
I need a train ticket, please
Good stuff. Walking bass line 101. Class dismissed.
ThePoose wrote:
You should: she's from east Texas!
Thanks...I did not know that. Looked her up and realized she did get started just north of here.
How disappointing. (click here) Apparently Michelle thinks the internet radio broadcasters are all living like fat cats with their beach houses and their Navigators, sipping on champagne and lighting cigarettes with $100 bills.
One of the best albums EVER. From 'Anchorage' to 'VFD' she pushed 'folk singer-songwriter' into new territory. The secret cut 'Fogtown' with MDC defies every convention. I never get tired of Ms. Shocked. c.
Great song. I like Michelle Shocked but I find it just a little harder to enjoy her music now that she's come out in favor of the RIAA's attempt to silence web radio.
Blah. If love was a Michelle Shocked song, I would stick sharp pencils in my eardrums...
dixiedeb wrote:
Yeah!
Sounds like Bonnie Raitt. Good stuff.
redtex wrote:
We guys dig her in Texas too!
You should: she's from east Texas!
Thistle wrote:
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
We guys dig her in Texas too!
This would be a 10 -- if only she had used the subjunctive.
Yeah!
Saw her first at the Cambridge Folk Festival 20+ years ago. Saw her last in Bristol last year. Still fantastic live. Still living her own complicated way and playing the music she wants. What more can a musician do?
More More More MS - This must be good as this genre is not my fav!!
This song is fun.
Thistle wrote:
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
Im an east coast guy (NH) and I have loved her for years.
Thistle wrote:
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
Me a guy and I have loved Michelle Shocked for a long, long time. This isn't my favorite song by her and it isn't really an example of her very best work. You have to be able to appreciate her style, but try Memories of East Texas and Anchorage to get a better idea. And this is her early stuff...she only got better really. An outstanding live performer as well. Oh and by the way she's hardly only a West Coast phenomenon...'Chel has rabid fans worldwide, no joke.
I just love these lyrics, and the way she puts them over.
Thistle wrote:
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
need i remind you that we are living in the common era.
this track would sound great segue-ing into shivaree's 'i close my eyes', don't you think, bill?
One of my favourites from a great album! Oh yeah, and i'm a guy too.
F-Man wrote:
Like this run - Joe Ely's "Boxcars" to Michelle Shocked's "If Love Was a Train". . . .
. . . or "The L&N Don't Run By Here No More." RP's just rolling like a freight train today!
There's more significance to this following Joe Ely's "Boxcars" than just the train theme. Michelle Shocked actually lived the hobo lifestyle for a while, although I don't know if it was out of necessity or just "research."
Yes...More Michelle Shocked is always a good thing. And no, I had never heard of her till I lived on the West Coast. Now that I'm back East I plan to spread the word.
Just waiting 4 this BORING song to finish.................
Mudbog wrote:
This woman can sing. Saw her in SLC - very good performer - TONS of energy. Seems my siblings back east have never heard of her - is she only well know out west?
I thought this was the Pretenders at first. I've heard of Michelle, but never paid much attention to her. Maybe I'll have to do a little investigating.
This woman can sing. Saw her in SLC - very good performer - TONS of energy. Seems my siblings back east have never heard of her - is she only well know out west?
Like this run - Joe Ely's "Boxcars" to Michelle Shocked's "If Love Was a Train". I was hoping maybe Old 97s "West Texas Teardrops" would be next.
The tempo changes near the end of this song are great.
bluedot wrote:
hey, i like this. didn't know michelle shocked did blues.
yeah, I was starting wonder why my stream didn't correspond with the playlist
Sweet!
hey, i like this. didn't know michelle shocked did blues.
Thistle wrote:
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
i am a guy, and am not too particularly fond of ms. shocked, but actually kind of dig this song, maybe i will give her another chance
Good to catch this here, always did like MS's sound. A 9.
This is a terrific tune, and the album is GREAT! Some sa-weeeet guitar on it from Pete Anderson . . . .
Thistle wrote:
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
I'm a guy and I like this song/album alot. Just the fact that you ask the question suggests that you have some issues.
I'm a guy. I like it.
Groannnnn... Have any GUYS commented about this singer at ALL? Tepid at best.
II've got both albums. What happened to Michelle, were'd she go?
great song. gets me groooooovin
This was the first song I ever heard from Michelle. It certainly grabbed my attention! She is a wonderful songwriter and performer.
Love this song and the disc it comes from--great songs and excellent performances throughout. And you have to admire the sly way her voice slides through songs, investing every lyric with lots of implication.
if love was a train, i\'d throw MY body down on the tracks, too!