"Downtown Train" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits released on his ninth studio album Rain Dogs in 1985. The promo video, which was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and produced by Andrea Ambandos, was filmed in black and white and features a cameo appearance by boxer Jake LaMotta.[2] Several musical artists have charted with their covers of "Downtown Train", including Rod Stewart, Patty Smyth, and Bob Seger.
Reviewing "Downtown Train" for Music Week, Jerry Smith called it an "effective" single.[3]
Bob Seger also recorded a version of "Downtown Train" in 1989 before Rod Stewart recorded his version. Seger claimed that on a trip to London he told Rod Stewart he had recorded a version of "Downtown Train" and then one month later Rod Stewart recorded his version. Rod Stewart and his management have denied that Rod Stewart stole the idea from Bob Seger. Seger decided not to release his version in 1989 as originally planned but instead re-recorded it in 2011 for his album Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets.[6]
Everything but the Girl's acoustic cover, also recorded in 1989 and later put on the reissue of The Language of Life, was used for the climactic scene of the 2014's final episode of the long-running series How I Met Your Mother. Music supervisor Andy Gowan says that Carter Bays "basically put it in the script, and wrote that script with that song in mind"; Gowan described the song as "heartbreakingly beautiful" and captured both the "sweet and romantic" and the "somber, dark part" of the scene.[7]
