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From album
Honestidad brutal
Andrés Calamaro · 1999 · Track 2
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The story behind
The first time you listen to El tren que pasa, you’re left with that melody that seems to move in circles, as if the train the song mentions never quite arrives. It’s not a song that grabs you immediately; instead, it sticks with you afterward, when it’s no longer playing. The bass and guitar intertwine in a rhythm that isn’t strictly 4/4 but has a sway that gives it that sense of an eternal journey, as if the train were moving slowly but without pause. Calamaro’s voice, with that air of weariness and resignation, adds a layer of nostalgia that isn’t obvious at first but ends up being what draws you in the most.
Calamaro recorded this track in Uruguay, where he spent part of his youth playing in local bands before making the definitive leap. Even then, his knack for blending styles was evident: from rock to blues, with touches of balladry that always defined him. The album featuring El tren que pasa was one of those works that emerged almost by chance, between rehearsals and tours, without the pressure of chasing massive success. What’s curious is that, while today it sounds like a track that could have been a hit, at the time it went largely unnoticed by the general public. Those who heard it live or in the few places where it spread, however, remembered it forever.