Morningtown Ride

"Morningtown" redirects here and is 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]

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.