Morningtown Ride

"Morningtown" redirects here. Not to be confused with Mornington.

"Morningtown Ride"
Single by the Seekers
from the album Hide & Seekers
B-side	"When the Stars Begin to Fall"
Released	1966
Genre	Folk[1] folk-pop[2] lullaby[3]
Length	2:36
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Malvina Reynolds
Producer(s)	Tom Springfield
Music video
"Morningtown Ride" - (Stereo, 1966) on YouTube

"Morningtown Ride" is a lullaby,[3] written and performed by American singer Malvina Reynolds. It was covered by the Australian pop group the Seekers and their recording reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song tells the comforting story of the journey through nighttime made by all the "little travellers" (children), on board a train, with the Sandman as guard.[4]

The Seekers version

The song was performed by the Seekers with Bobby Richards and his Orchestra on the 1964 album Hide & Seekers (W&G Records WG-B-2362). It was subsequently re-recorded and released as a single in 1966 (Columbia DB 8060),[5] produced by Tom Springfield.[6]

The song spent 15 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 2 on 28 December 1966.[5] In the United States, the song spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 44,[7] while reaching No. 13 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[8][9]

Charts

Chart (1966–67)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)[10]	2
Malaysia[11]	4
South Africa[12]	9
UK Singles (OCC)[13]	2
US Billboard Hot 100[14]	44
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15]	13

Other versions

• The Irish Rovers recorded versions of the song, which were released on the 1972 album The Irish Rovers Live and the 1976 album Children of the Unicorn. In 1973, the Irish Rovers' version reached No. 83 on Canada's RPM 100[16] and No. 39 on RPM's Adult Contemporary Playlist.[17]
• Brendan Grace recorded a version of the song, which reached No. 25 on the Irish Singles Chart on 6 January 1985.[18]
• Australian soprano, Mirusia, recorded the song on her 2019 album, A Salute to The Seekers, which reached No. 1 on the ARIA Jazz and Blues chart.
• The Swedish group Country Four recorded a Swedish version, "Vägen till morgonstad" (The way to morningtown), which peaked at number 6 in May–June 1967 on the Swedish airplay chart Svensktoppen.

See also

• Morningtown Ride to Christmas, 2001 album by The Seekers
• List of train songs

References

1. "Spotlight Singles" Billboard, February 4, 1967. p. 16. Accessed December 23, 2017.
2. Dimery, Robery (2015). "The Seekers - "The Carnival Is Over". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 163.
3. Ley, Alison (2003). Sounds of Singing: Reception-Y2/P1-P3, p. 49. Nelson Thornes. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
4. "Lullabies for Sleepy Eyes", Susie Tallman & Rock Me Baby Records. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
5. "SEEKERS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
6. "Billboard Hot 100", Billboard, March 25, 1967. Accessed September 29, 2016.
7. "The Seekers - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
8. "The Seekers - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
9. "Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening", Billboard, April 15, 1967. p. 20. Accessed September 29, 2016.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Morningtown Ride". Irish Singles Chart.
11. "Hits of the World", Billboard, February 18, 1967. p. 60. Accessed September 29, 2016.
12. "Hits of the World", Billboard, January 28, 1967. p. 70. Accessed September 29, 2016.
13. "Seekers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
14. "The Seekers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
15. "The Seekers Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
16. "RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 20, No. 1, August 18, 1973. Accessed October 8, 2016.
17. "Adult Contemporary Playlist", RPM Weekly, Volume 19, No. 11, April 28, 1973. Accessed October 8, 2016.
18. Song Title Search Results for "Morningtown Ride", The Irish Charts. Accessed September 29, 2016.