Composition Notes

The dreamy quality of train travel is amplified by the notion that it is an overnight train crossing Europe. At the time there were relatively few such but trains are gradually being added. It is to me a very exciting and romantic idea and the Italian language gives me this feeling too.

The music started as a riff played on a kalimba in A minor and the sound of the track is built around fretless bass, piano and various euro organ sounds. There is a trombone solo which reminds me of the atmosphere of the NDR big band.

Kind of an antidote to Eurovision which is always rather manic

Recorded 2015

Pan European Night Train

1 It’s half past eleven the city is changing again

Time for the half-dead to feel like they might half-show

I’m at the station, got a ticket with a stranger

Getting on to a Pullman, it’s the night train

2 We won’t be sleeping as we climb into the mountains

As we tear up all the darkness as we flicker by the river

Coz I’ll be exploring - we’ll be in heaven

The world will not know us - we won’t be caring

As we go round and round and round, round and round and round

As we go round and round and round, round and round and round Oh

CH Whatever happened To the Pan-European

wicked old night train They’ve been disconnected

Can’t take you from Bilbao to Bucharest

Now there’s no Paris to Berlin, no Rome to Talinn

We wanna go round and round and round

Round and round and round again

[Instrumental]

BR Oh you would wake up in another world

Oh you would wake up in another world

Ah changing me forever - Change my life forever

Ah but now it’s gone for ever

CH Italian] Cosa successo pan europeo

Treno notturno non si puo andare

dal Bilbao al Bucharest

no Parigi to Berlin, no Roma to Talinn

vuol giro e rigir’ giro e rigir’ ancora

di nuovo in tondo