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Rolling Stones songs: Silver Train
*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

And I did not know her name/ But I sure loved the way that she laughed and took my money…

Written by: Jagger/Richard
Recorded: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England, Oct. 17/31 1970; Dynamic Sounds Studios Kingston Jamaica, Nov. 25-Dec. 21 1972; Island Recording Studios, London, England, June 1973
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From Songfacts:
“Silver Train” is a reference to the Texas rock singer Johnny Winter, who was an albino. Winter heard an early take and released his own version in March 1973, a few months ahead of The Stones.

Mick Jagger blew the train whistle.

This was driven by the piano of Ian Stewart, who was not a member of the band because their manager felt he did not fit the image. Stewart was known as “The 6th Stone.”

Recorded in London, this is one of the few songs on Goats Head Soup that was not recorded in Jamaica.

From the Rolling Stones – All the Songs, The Story Behind Every Track book:
A man is traveling home on a silver train bound for the southern US. A little while before, he has been enjoying a good time with a girl whose name he does not know. But I sure love the way that she laughed and took my money (… and called me “honey”), sings Jagger. Here we have another Stones song in which the heroine is a prostitute. “Silver Train” was probably written at the end of the sixties or the beginning of the seventies, around the same time as “All Down the Line,” to which it bears a strange resemblance. An initial version was recorded in October 1970 at Olympic Sound Studios in London, and a second in spring 1973. The Texas bluesman Johnny Winter heard the Glimmer Twins’ song and liked it so much that he recorded it himself during the sessions for his album Still Alive and Well, which was released in March 1973. Furthermore, it was probably Winter’s recording of “Silver Train” that led the Rolling Stones to rework their song and ultimately include it on Goats Head Soup.