vudu.com




Elvis SongPedia: Mystery Train

Mystery Train




Back to
"M" Menu

Basic Stats

(Just the facts, ma'am!)

Written by: Herman (Little Junior) Parker, Sam Phillips

Recorded: July 11, 1955, Sun Studio, Memphis
Released master take number is unknown.

Single: w/ "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", Sun 223, 45rpm and 78rpm, August 6, 1955
Also re-released on RCA, 47-6357, (78rpm, 20-6357), December 2, 1955
Also re-released as Gold standard series, 447-0600, September 30, 1958

Highest U.S. Charts Positions:
#11 on Billboard's Country Disc Jockey chart

1st LP release: For LP Fans Only - February 1959
Click to download or buy
"Mystery Train"
now from Amazon!



or download from iTunes:


For other versions, see
Lyrics and Downloads section below.



My Spin

(Just my opinion. Give us yours!)

I'm still not sure what the mystery is about the train in "Mystery Train". Is it because the train can't decide if it's taking his baby away or bringing her back? Is it a wedding train, a funeral train? Is it just Junior Parker giving it a mysterious title to mess with us all for the next 50 years? Oh well, no mystery about the fact that it's one of Elvis' iconic moments at Sun Records, toward the end of his stay there, in late summer, 1955. A fast-paced shuffling number with some great Scotty Moore guitar, and Elvis wailing away throughout, and famously whooping it up and laughing as the song fades out.

I'll add some more later, but meanwhile check out the music and links.

Other Spins

(What did the critics and fans say?)


"Mystery Train" is rock music, a fine fast number.

Robert Matthew-Walker, Elvis Presley: A Study in Music, 1979




Elvis' rockabilly-tempo version of Little Junior's blues ranks as one of the most groundbreaking and stirring of his early recordings. With the sound and feeling of the freight yards, Elvis transforms the blues into something purely personal.

Martin Torgoff, The Complete Elvis, 1982





...Its rise to legend came a year later when Elvis Presley recorded it as his final Sun single, the first record of his to reach number one on the country charts and grease the way for him to be sold to RCA Victor, the record being big enough to be his first release for the new label as well...

Cub Coda, from the AllMusic review of "Mystery Train"




Check out other Elvis fans' opinions on the Elvis News page for Mystery Train



Check out other opinions at Rate Your Music




"Mystery Train" Links


"Mystery Train" Lyrics and Downloads

Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well that long black train got my baby and gone

Train train, comin' 'round, 'round the bend
Train train, comin' 'round the bend
Well it took my baby, but it never will again
(no, not again)

Train train, comin' down, down the line
Train train, comin' down the line
Well it's bringin' my baby, 'cause she's mine all, all mine
(She's mine, all, all mine)

Download the Karaoke Version!

Mystery Train karaoke - Elvis PresleyMystery Train
Elvis Presley


Download or just listen to different versions by Elvis from CD Universe!

... or different versions by other artists!




What's YOUR Spin on "Mystery Train"?
Yea or Nay?

Yea! Classic Rockabilly!

Nay! Sixteen Coaches Too Long!


HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Some Other Elvis Song Lists

Elvis Website Directories

  • ElvisStartPage - As the name implies, this is the place to start when looking for Elvis sites!
  • Elvis Presley - Another directory of Elvis websites. The place to go to find Elvis on the web!
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


Vote for my site at ElvisFind.com!

Study Up Some More!

Elvis song reference books on Amazon!

Ernst Jorgensen's complete chronicle of Elvis' recording sessions, with loads of detailed information about each session and each song.
This is the definitive encyclopedia on Elvis' life details, as well as all the background and trivia you need for all the songs, movies, and TV appearances. Authors are Fred L. Worth and Steve D. Tamerius.
The subtitle of Ace Collins' book says it all: "The stories behind Elvis' #1 hits"!
"Elvis The #1 Hits: The Secret History of the Classics". Another self-explanatory book title. :)