First Train Home Lyrics

[Intro]
Got to get on it
Got to get on it
Got to get on it

[Verse 1]
Bodies disengage, our mouths are fleshing over
As hiss and echo gain, irises retreat into ovals of white

[Pre-Chorus 1]
The urge to feel your face
In blood, rushing to paint my hand print

And Frisbee one by one, your vinyl on laminate
I'm desperate for some kind of contact

[Chorus 1]
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home, I've got to get on it
Got to catch, to catch, catch, catch, catch
The first train home, I've got to get on it
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home

[Verse 2]
Temporal dead zone where clocks are barely breathing
(Breathing, breathing, breathing, breathing)
Yet no one cares to notice for all their yamming on
I clam up to hold it together
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I want to Play-Doh waveforms in The Hideaway
Want to get on with getting on with things
I want to run in fields, paint the kitchen and love someone

And I can't do any of that here, can I?

[Chorus 2]
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home

[Breakdown]
So what? You've had one too many
So what? I'm not that much fun to be with
So what? You've got a silly hat on
So what? I didn't want to come here anyway


[Bridge]
What matters to you, it doesn't matter, matter to me
What matters to me, it doesn't matter, matter to you
What matters to you, it doesn't matter, matter to them
What matters to them, it doesn't change anything

[Chorus 3]
Got to get on it
First train home
Got to get on it
First train home
First train home, I've got to get on it
Got to catch, to catch, catch, catch, catch
First train home, I've got to get on it
First train home
First train...
[Outro]
Got to, got to, got to, got to
Get, get, get, get
Out, out, out, out
Now, now, now, now

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About

Genius Annotation

“First Train Home” depicts Imogen at a party, where she’s panicking and wants more than anything to leave and catch the first train back home. It is the sole single from her third studio album Ellipse.

The song remains her highest-charting in the US, placing at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Bubbling Under chart. It first premiered on the Santa Monica-based NPR radio station, KCRW 89.9 FM.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Imogen Heap say about "First Train Home"?
Genius Answer

On how the song came to be:

So [my friend and I] went out [to] this festival – it was good – but being around music made me even more jittery like I should be doing more and getting home…So I was stuck – marooned at this party of people all having such a fantastic time…Panic attack set in. Cold sweats. And I just wanted to get on the first train home basically. I did eventually – got the first train home, stayed up all night and wrote the song on the piano at home really quickly. What’s lovely about it is that I recorded the song in the studio which is directly underneath the dining room where the piano is.

Via EQ

How many music videos for the song exist?
Genius Answer

A total of two music videos for the song were released. The second video was directed by Imogen Heap herself!

Did Imogen ever perform this song on television?
Genius Answer

Yes. Imogen performed “First Train Home” on the August 28, 2009 episode of The David Letterman Show.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Programmer
Mastering Engineer
Engineer
Lyricist
Assistant Mastering Engineer
Arranger
Mixing Engineer
Instruments
Recorded At
The Hideaway
Release Date
July 10, 2009
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