“Scroll down to the end of the article to listen to music.”
Introduction
Emmylou Harris’s “Tulsa Queen” stands as one of the most poignant tracks in her remarkable catalog. Released on her 1977 album “Luxury Liner,” this melancholic ballad showcases Harris’s extraordinary ability to convey heartache through her crystalline vocals.
Co-written with Rodney Crowell, the song tells a bittersweet tale using the powerful metaphor of a train. The “Tulsa Queen” becomes both a physical entity and an emotional vessel, carrying with it themes of longing, escape, and the painful acceptance of loss. The narrator watches as the train moves forward on its journey, much like life itself continues even when we’re left behind with our memories.
What makes “Tulsa Queen” so affecting is its emotional restraint. Rather than melodrama, Harris delivers the story with quiet dignity that makes the underlying pain all the more powerful. The sparse, atmospheric production perfectly complements the narrative, creating a soundscape that feels like a lonely highway stretching into the distance.
Interestingly, some music historians have suggested the song may have deeper connections to Harris’s relationship with Gram Parsons, her former musical partner who passed away in 1973. The final verse’s confession of speaking “your name too loud each time it comes up in a crowd” carries particular weight when viewed through this lens, suggesting the lingering presence of someone deeply missed.
The song has endured as a fan favorite and a testament to Harris’s interpretive gifts. When she sings about watching someone leave, you don’t just hear the words—you feel the weight of that goodbye, the mixture of love and loss that lingers long after the train has disappeared from view.
Video
Lyrics
I heard the train
In the Tulsa night
Calling out my name
Looking for a fight
She’s come a long, long way
Got a longer way to go
So tell me how a train from Tulsa
Has got a right to know
She sings a song
So sad and high
And the Tulsa queen
Don’t ever lie
And she don’t care where she goes
Don’t care where she’s been
And the Tulsa queen ain’t crying
‘Cause I won’t see you again
And I want to ride
Like a Tulsa queen
Calling out to you
As she calls to me
As far away from Tulsa
As these ten wheels can be
Lately I speak
Your name too loud
Each time it comes up
In a crowd
And I know it when I do
The Tulsa queen and you
Are gone…