Runaway Train (Elton John and Eric Clapton song)

"Runaway Train" is a song by English musicians Elton John and Eric Clapton.^[1] A CD, cassette and 7-inch vinyl single from Elton John's album The One was released in July 1992 and was later accompanied by a music video shot the same year.^[2] It was also used in the Lethal Weapon 3 movie soundtrack.

"Runaway Train"
Single by Elton John and Eric Clapton
from the album The One and Lethal Weapon 3 soundtrack
B-side	"Understanding Women" (extended mix)
Released	20 July 1992 (1992-07-20)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	5:23
Label	MCA Rocket
Songwriter(s)	John Taupin Romo
Producer(s)	Chris Thomas
Elton John singles chronology
"The One" (1992) "Runaway Train" (1992) "The Last Song" (1992)
Eric Clapton singles chronology
"It's Probably Me" (1992) "Runaway Train" (1992) "Layla" (1992)

Writing and recording

The music for the song was written by Elton John and Olle Romo while the lyrics were written by John's long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin.^[3] For the recording of his instrumental part, John used the Roland RD-1000 digital piano. Eric Clapton sings a duet with John for this track. Clapton takes the main singing part and improvised a couple guitar solos while recording.^[4] The song is in the key of G minor. For the studio recordings, Clapton used a capo on the third guitar fret, but never used it for live performances when John and Clapton went on tour in 1992.^[5]

Release and promotion

The song was released on 20 July 1992 as the second single of John's studio album, The One, and from the Lethal Weapon 3 soundtrack.^[6] Then, it was available for several European countries.^[7] A music video to accompany the single was released in late 1992. It consists of video snippets while Clapton and John are performing the song during the Eric Clapton World Tour in London's Wembley Stadium.^[8]

Track listings

Maxi-CD single^[9]

1. "Runaway Train" – 5:23
2. "Aretha & Elton – Through The Storm" – 4:21
3. "George Michael & Elton John – Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" – 5:49
4. "Elton John & Cliff Richard – Slow Rivers" – 3:10

7-inch vinyl single^[9]

1. "Runaway Train" – 5:23
2. "Elton John – Understanding Women" – 9:31

Personnel

Personnel are taken from the single release liner notes.^[3]

Eric Clapton – lead guitar, lead vocals Elton John – keyboards, lead vocals Olle Romeo – drums, percussion, programming Davey Johnstone – rhythm guitar Guy Babylon – keyboards, programming Pino Palladino – bass guitar Janice Jamison – backing vocals Carole Fredericks – backing vocals Beckie Bell – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1992) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[10] 53 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[11] 22 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[12] 17 Denmark (IFPI)^[13] 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[14] 48 France (SNEP)^[15] 29 Germany (Official German Charts)^[16] 41 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[17] 37 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[18] 28 Norway (VG-lista)^[19] 28 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[20] 15 UK Singles (OCC)^[21] 31 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[22] 10

Year-end charts Chart (1992) Position Norway (VG-lista)^[19] 101

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)^[23]	Gold	50,000^^
Norway (IFPI Norway)^[19]	Gold
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Runaway Train – Elton John | Listen, Appearances, Song Review | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
2. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train – hitparade.ch". Schweizer Hitparade (in German). Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
3. "Elton John Lyrics: Runaway Train". Eltonography.com. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
4. "Elton John – Runaway Train (duet with Eric Clapton) Lyrics". LetsSingIt.com. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
5. . Where's Eric!. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
6. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 18 July 1992. p. 19. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
7. Werner, Lutz (2004). MCA Records Publishing. New York City: Wonderful Books.
8. "Runaway Train of Elton John in video on Jukebox". Jukebo.de. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
9. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train – austriancharts.at". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
11. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
12. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
13. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 36. 5 September 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 37. 12 September 1992. p. 15. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
15. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
16. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 36, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
18. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
19. Gayvin, James (1993). Top 30 Singles of 1992 – VG-lista. Dublin: Limited Publishing.
20. "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
22. . AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
23. (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)