Journey Through The Past : Frank Sinatra : Watertown

I had not heard of this Watertown until recently.

I have half a dozen Sinatra albums from his Sad Frank phase in the mid to late 50's - until a month or so ago I only had one Sinatra album on my "Buy it if I see it at the right price list" 1959's No One Cares.

Then suddenly I kept reading about Watertown. It seemed to be all over the internet (viral even). Partly as a result of the impressive Watertownology website.  I can not tell the story any better than what is on that site but I will give my own perspective.

And then I found a second hand copy

Original US Pressing - immaculate condition and with the original poster included.

Released in early 1970 it is apparently his worst selling album proper.  It did not appeal to either long term fans or any new audience he may have been after.

The album was conceived by Bob Gaudio (one of the Four Seasons and their main songwriter) as a mini-drama.  It is based, funnily enough in Watertown,  a real town in New York State about which Harry Chapin once stated "I spent a week there one afternoon".  

It tells the story of a marriage breakdown and ultimate reconciliation from Goodbye (She Quietly Says) to the final reconciliation The Train.

It has much the same melancholy as his Sad Frank phase of the late 50s but the orchestration is not quite in the same league as either Gordon Jenkins' or Nelson Riddle's style.  However the lyrics are more contemporary and complex.

The Train

And now the sun has broken through, it looks like it will stay
Just can't have you comin' home on such a rainy day
The train is leaving Ellensville, unless my watch is fast
The kids are comin' home from school, must be quarter past
So many changes since you've been away, and there's so many things to say
This time around you'll want to stay, 'cuz I've had so many nights to find the way
Even bought that summer cottage yesterday, pretty soon I'll be close to you
And it will be so good, we'll talk about the part of you I never understood,
And I will take good care of you, and never let you cry
We will look so much in love to people passing by
So many changes since you've been away, and there's so many things to say
I wrote so many times and more, but the letters still are lying in my drawer
'Cuz the morning mail had left some time before
All the passengers for Allentown wait closer to the track
It's hard for me to realize you're really coming back
The crossing gate is coming down I think I see the train
The sun has gone and now my face is wet with heavy rain
The passengers for Allentown are gone, the train is slowly moving on
But I can't see you any place, and I know for sure I'd recognize your face
And I know for sure I'd recognize your face.

If you like the Sad Frank phase then this is an updated version of it.  It is a pity it did  not sell but I am pleased I found my way to it.