Stop This Train

It’s 5:59 a.m. I type this on the shaky tray table of my Amtrak train from Buffalo to New York. This week, I have an exciting opportunity that I have looked forward to since I stepped foot on my college campus. I will travel to New York City with my advertising class to compete in the National Student Advertising Competition. 

I have never been to New York City. I have never been on a train. I have never traveled for a school trip or without my parents. 

This trip marks many firsts for me, and I could not be more excited to expand my horizons. 

As I put on my noise-canceling headphones and prepare to get comfy for the 8-hour trip, I know exactly what song I want to listen to. 

John Mayer’s song “Stop This Train” has always made me feel certain emotions that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. It was one of those songs I vaguely heard during my childhood but never took the time to analyze. 

Until, boom! I had an extended period of time (my 8-hour train ride) to listen to the song and explore its meaning and lyrics. The English class nerd in me was admittedly smirking at the thought of taking some time to do a lyrical analysis as I watched the sunrise from my window seat. 

The song opens with John Mayer asking someone to “Stop this train” and that he “can’t take the speed”. He then alludes to wanting to get off the “train” and go home. I thought to myself, what the heck is this train he’s referring to, and why does he want to get off so bad? 

In the following verses, however, the song’s symbolic meaning is revealed. Mayer harmonizes “Don’t wanna see my parents go” and “ So scared of getting older/

I’m only good at being young”. 

My former AP Literature student alter ego is unlocked. Suddenly, I connect the dots to a deeper meaning. 

The train represents the rapid passing of time that none of us can escape. 

The song takes an even more emotionally profound note when in the next verse, John has a conversation with his father. John looks to his father to “help him understand” why and how life’s pace is relentless and out of our control. 

His father replies  “I tried my hand/ John, honestly/ We’ll never stop this train.” 

Whether this conversation was real or not, it’s clear the notion of aging and losing time and loved ones has stuck with John. John’s father sagely tells his son that we cannot halt the course of time. 

It’s poetic yet sorrowful, profound, and nostalgic. 

It seems that out of nowhere I am suddenly 21 and about to graduate college in just a few months. I don’t want my parents to get older. Like most people, I miss my childhood often.

So yes, my “train” is moving very fast and there are many times I want to stop it and just “go home”. 

But when I think about it, there’s beauty in the train’s movement. John Mayer wants to “Stop This Train”, but the train, or the passing of time, is an indicator that we are alive and breathing. It signifies that we have lived and are currently living. 

Though it’s moving swiftly and outside of my control, the train (my life) is something I will never want to stop or take for granted. 

We could become fearful about the train moving too fast and hunker down in anxiety. Instead, I’ll savor each movement that my train is taking me somewhere new. 

• Experiences
• life
• time