Time again for the song of the week from my iPod. This song isn’t actually on my iPod for some reason but it will be by the end of the weekend. I have all of Robyn’s Soft Boys collection but none of his solo stuff.

Betty CurseRobyn Hitchcock has been making brilliant and eclectic music since 1976 when he started The Soft Boys, a psychedelic punk band from Cambridge, England. Their best album was “Underwater Moonlight” which was also their final album. The Soft Boys broke up in 1981 when Kimberley Rew left the group to be part of Katrina and the Waves hoping for a more commercial career. Hitchcock went on to a long and interesting solo career.

Hitchcock has said that his main musical influences are Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Syd Barrett. Barrett, of course, was the former member of Pink Floyd who left the group in 1968 due to mental illness. The lyrics of Hitchcock’s songs have always been the key part of his music and tend to include surrealism, comedy, eccentric people, and usually sad depictions of everyday life. His themes include what many psychologists view as the roots of modern neuroses – namely death, sex and eating.

Hitchcock is also a short story writer and painter and his albums often feature one of his paintings on the cover and one his stories in the liner notes. He has appeared in several films including The Manchurian Candidate. He is currently touring with The Decemberists in support of their new album on which he appears. His current group is called The Venus 3, and features Peter Buck of R.E.M., Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, and Bill Rieflin of Ministry.

The album I Often Dream Of Trains was Hitchcock’s third solo album and was released in 1984. The album featured some of Hitchcock’s cleverest songs including “Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl”, “Uncorrected Personality Traits”, “Sounds Great When You’re Dead”, and the title track.

I Often Dream of Trains
I often dream of trains when I’m alone
I ride on them into another zone
I dream of them constantly
Heading for paradise
Or Basingstoke
Or Reading

I often dream of trains when I’m awake
They ride along beside a frozen lake
And there in the buffet car
I wait for eternity
Or Basingstoke
Or Reading

I often dream of trains till it gets light
The summer turns to winter overnight
The leaves fall so suddenly
The sun sets at four o’clock
Exactly what
I’m dreading

I often dream of trains when I’m with you
I wonder if you dream about them too
Maybe we’ll meet one night
Out in the corridor
I’m waiting for
You baby
Baby
Baby
Baby
Baby…

The video is a live version performed at The Junction in Cambridge, UK on February 17, 2009. Hitchcock did not wear that shirt when we saw him in concert at Radio City Music Hall. His shirt looked like the guitar he is playing in the video.