Exclusive: Rob Williams’ story behind a train song

Relax, no one gets robbed or killed

Singer/songwriter Rob Williams told Elmore the story behind a key song, “Only Heaven Knows,” on his latest album, Weathering the Storm, Vol. 1 (Click HERE for the song premiere.)

“Every songwriter needs a train song. At least one. A few years ago, I rode the train up to NYC to get some press photos for the record I had coming out at the time. The album was called An Hour Before Daylight, and the photographer and I thought we would do a pre-dawn shoot at the Empire Diner in Manhattan to match the title (we ended up doing the shoot around one in the morning because it’s just easier to stay up late than to get up early). The next morning, I made my way to Penn Station and boarded the Amtrak back to Richmond, suffering a mild hangover and lack of sleep. I headed straight for the Quiet Car. The conductor noticed my guitar case and jokingly asked if I was going to play a song for everyone. I found my way to an empty seat, put on headphones and settled in for the six-hour trip back home. My photographer friend and I had talked a lot about music the previous night, and one of the artists that we both were excited about was Anthony D’Amato. One of the albums I listened to on the way home was Anthony’s Shipwreck from the Shore.

“Working on a song a month or so later, I recalled the trip and jotted down some notes: Penn Station, Quiet Car, train song, Shipwreck from the Shore. I remembered someone once telling me that Penn Station was a place where wandering souls were sorted to their metaphysical destinations. I had been working on building a song around the line “There are so many damn train songs and not so many trains” for a while to no avail. As I laid out the narrative of the song, that line fit neatly into it. I had the lyrics finished with only minor edits remaining that same day. I wanted the melody to dictate the chords and thought the simpler the better.

“So this is my train song. It’s not glamorous or gritty. No one gets robbed or killed. The train doesn’t derail at high speed going down a mountain. No one rides across the country in a boxcar. It’s just the unfolding of ordinary events (with a few embellishments) of an Amtrak ride from NYP to RVR.

“The band played this song for a couple of years before we took it to the studio. I love the way the recorded version turned out because the backing vocals and Leslie’s guitar really shine. Perhaps my favorite part of the song is the addition of the keyboard during the chorus. When it first comes in, it reminds me of ‘Wichita Lineman,’ and I think that’s pretty cool.”

—Rob Williams