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Cover of London Calling by The Clash
Cover: London Calling

Song · The Clash

“Train in Vain” by The Clash

From the album London Calling (1979)

“Train in Vain” by The Clash appears on 120 radio countdowns from 39 stations between 1980 and 2026. It was first released in 1979 on the album London Calling. Its best result is #10 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #10 alternative song of 1980 and #58 alternative song of all time.

120countdowns
39stations
#10best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1980–2026years charted

Watch

The Clash - Train in Vain (Stand by Me) (Official Audio)

Video from YouTube (theclashVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Train in Vain" was the last track on London Calling, the Clash's third album, from 1979, and for a while it was a secret: it had been added so late that the sleeve was already being printed, so it played as a hidden track with no mention on the cover. Later editions put it in the track listing, and it became the album's third and final single.

It's the Clash at their most openly pop, a stomping, soul-flavored number with a chugging beat from Topper Headon, Paul Simonon's bass rolling underneath, and guitars from Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, who share the vocals. Guy Stevens produced it and Bill Price engineered, and for once the band sound less like they're storming the barricades than working a dance floor.

In the US and Canada it was sold as "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)", since that phrase rules the chorus, though the plain title was chosen partly to avoid a mix-up with Ben E. King's 1961 "Stand by Me". It was the first Clash single to crack the top 40 of the Hot 100, and in 2010 Rolling Stone ranked it 298 among the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1980 10 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 209 95.5 KLOS KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) 499
1988 89 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 345 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 146 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 15 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 30 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1990 73 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 71 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 18 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 178 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 241 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 11 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 217 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 157 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 53 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 194 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 106 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 160 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 21 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 44 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1996 333 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 938 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 106 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 177 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 69 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 154 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 12 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 135 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 220 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 104 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 212 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 159 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 98 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 206 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 55 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 100 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 204 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 274 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 93 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 71 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 204 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 350 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 104 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 31 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 91 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 204 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 135 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 220 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 484 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 204 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 264 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 157 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 52 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 204 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 433 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 21 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 184 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 334 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 23 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 31 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 156 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 369 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 342 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 121 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 472 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 128 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 165 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 332 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 130 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 621 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 140 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 289 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 182 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 147 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 144 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 347 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 279 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 374 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 148 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 34 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 135 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 824 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 313 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 474 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 70 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 58 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 667 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2016 383 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 745 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 394 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 144 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2018 391 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 448 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 130 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2019 373 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2020 270 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 614 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2021 399 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 486 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 801 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 360 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 646 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 132 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 67 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 355 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 701 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 222 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2023 451 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 146 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 967 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 322 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 762 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 775 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2024 968 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 90 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 465 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2025 913 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 27 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 334 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) 499
2026 314 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Train In Vain (Stand By Me); Train In Vain; Train in Vain (Stand by Me); Train in Vain (Stand By Me).

Charting alongside it in 1980

Best songs of 1980 →
  1. 1And the Cradle Will RockVan Halen
  2. 2Another One Bites the DustQueen
  3. 3Whip ItDevo
  4. 4Don't Stand So Close to MeThe Police
  5. 5Once in a LifetimeTalking Heads
  6. 6You Shook Me All Night LongAC/DC

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