Peace Train

For the Peace Train events, see Peace Train Organisation.
"Peace Train"
German vinyl single
Single by Cat Stevens
from the album Teaser and the Firecat
B-side
Released
  • 1971 (worldwide)
  • September 1971 (US)
RecordedMarch 1971
StudioMorgan, Willesden, London
Genre
Length
  • 4:12 (album version)
  • 3:45 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Cat Stevens
Producer(s)Paul Samwell-Smith
Cat Stevens singles chronology
"Moonshadow"
(1971) 		"Peace Train"
(1971) 		"Morning Has Broken"
(1972)

"Peace Train" is a 1971 song by Cat Stevens, taken from his album Teaser and the Firecat. The song climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of November 6, 1971, becoming Stevens' first US Top 10 hit.[3] The song also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart.[4] It is also featured on The Very Best of Cat Stevens compilation album. He re-recorded the song for the charity War Child in 2003.

Record World called it a "beautiful follow-up to 'Moon Shadow' and 'Wide World' [sic]" and praised the "delightful production."[5]

In the album version, the instrumental ending features a string section which drops out leaving the solo acoustic guitar playing of Cat Stevens, before the song's fade.

  1. ^ "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  2. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?: Utopian Pop". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 75. ISBN 031214704X.
  3. ^ "Hot 100 - Week of November 6, 1971". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  5. ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 18, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-12.