About the Song
Released on March 30, 2010 as a part of his studio album Freight Train, the title-track “Freight Train” is a compelling piece of country storytelling from Alan Jackson. The album itself marks his sixteenth studio release, and the song offers a textured look at longing, motion, and the heart that keeps turning even when the world is moving on.
In “Freight Train”, Jackson uses the imagery of a locomotive — powerful, unstoppable, loud — as a metaphor for emotional force. The narrator wishes to be a freight train: “Wish I was a freight train … Wish I didn’t have a heart,” he sings—an expression of wishing to bypass the vulnerability and hurt that comes with love and memory. The metaphor suggests someone who could crash through barriers, knock on your door unannounced, carry momentum without pause. It’s both defiance and escape.
Musically and stylistically, the track showcases Jackson’s faithful commitment to the traditions of country music in 2010 — Fiddle, steel guitar, and a baritone voice seasoned by years of singing about love, loss, family, and faith. Reviewers noted the album as “back-to-basics” country, and this song stands as a strong representative of that approach: not flashy, but honest—with a melody and performance that aim to connect.
For listeners who have grown with Jackson’s career, “Freight Train” offers both familiarity and introspection. The idea of being in motion — sometimes by choice, often by circumstance — resonates: we’ve all felt driven forward, unable to stop, sometimes wishing we could shut our hearts off to avoid pain. Yet the song doesn’t wallow — instead it leans into the rhythm of life, the momentum of the train, the unstoppable journey. In that sense it mirrors life after mid-career, after decades of experience: things change, tracks shift, but you keep riding.
Ultimately, “Freight Train” offers a rich mix of metaphor, grounded performance, and emotional truth. It reminds older listeners that even when the rails are worn, the engine keeps firing — and sometimes the strongest thing we can do is keep moving, keep believing, and keep singing.