Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Down Bound Train

Down Bound Train is a song written by Chuck Berry. It was inspired by Berry's "fire and brimstone" religious upbringing.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
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401 w
Citations
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
"Down Bound Train"
Single by Chuck Berry
from the album After School Session
A-side"No Money Down"
ReleasedJanuary 19561
RecordedDecember 19552
StudioUniversal Recording Corp. (Chicago)3
GenreRock and roll4
LabelChess 16155
SongwriterChuck Berry
Chuck Berry singles chronology
"Thirty Days"
(1955) 		"Down Bound Train"
(1956) 		"Roll Over Beethoven"
(1956)

Down Bound Train is a song written by Chuck Berry. It was inspired by Berry's "fire and brimstone" religious upbringing.6

It is a song about redemption and a warning against alcohol abuse. A man who has too much to drink falls asleep on a bar room floor and has a vivid dream about riding a train, which is driven by the devil. When the man wakes up he renounces the drink.

"Down Bound Train" was released in December 1955 as the B Side of "No Money Down". The title is sometimes given as "The Down Bound Train" or "Downbound Train."78

It is one of the first rock records to employ fade-in and fade-out. Negativland performed and recorded "Hellbound Plane" in concert; it is a parody of "Downbound Train" and suggested fictional character Dick Vaughn had died in a plane crash.

Cover versions

David Clayton-Thomas included a cover on his 1972 album Tequila Sunrise. In 2020, Vika and Linda cover the song for their album, Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso).910 Covered by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, and renamed Hellbound Train, on their 1999 album Half a Boy/Half a Man.

References

References

  1. "45cat - Chuck Berry - No Money Down / The Downbound Train - Chess - USA - 1615". 45cat. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
  2. Rudolph, Dietmar. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Chess Era (1955–1966)". Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  3. "The Chuck Berry Database Details For Recording Session: 20. 12. 1955". A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry. Dietmar Rudolph. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. Segretto, Mike (2022). "Rock and Roll: The First Eight Years". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 8. ISBN 9781493064601.
  5. https://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/cbdb/session/68-1955-12-20%2000:00:00.html
  6. SongFacts article about Chuck Berry's song
  7. Grow, Brian Hiatt,David Browne,Jon Dolan,Hank Shteamer,Kory; Hiatt, Brian; Browne, David; Dolan, Jon; Shteamer, Hank; Grow, Kory (19 March 2017). "Chuck Berry: 20 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Chuck Berry – The Downbound Train". Discogs.com.
  9. "There Ain't No Grave (Gonna Hold My Body Down)". Apple Music. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  10. "Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso) (CD)". JB HiFi. Retrieved July 24, 2020.