Last Train Home

Last Train Home
Single by Dahlia and Pandora from Chasing Shadows
Released	21 September 2015
Format	CD, digital download
Recorded	2012
Label	Next Generation Records
Writer	Dahlia
Producer	Patrik Berger
Chart position	#3
Certification	Gold
Dahlia chronology
"Cerulean Tears" (2014) "Last Train Home" (2015) "Witchcraft" (2016)
Pandora chronology
"Anonymous" (2013) "Last Train Home" (2015)

"Last Train Home" is the third single from Liechtensteinian singer Dahlia taken from her debut album "Chasing Shadows" (2013) and features British singer Pandora. The song was originally released as a promotional track alongside the release of the album in 2013, where it charted at #6 on the Digital chart and went on to spend a record breaking 13 week run on the chart, which is to date the longest chart run ever on that chart. The fan favourite song was chosen to be the third single from the album in 2015. The song tells the story of a girl returning home after having her heart broken. It also has an underlying focus on her concerns relating to her native Liechtenstein specifically where "being different is not really accepted" and that "the worst situation would be failing in my dream and having to travel back home".

Background

Upon the release of "Chasing Shadows" in June 2013, "Last Train Home" was released to the Digital chart alongside the album's release as a promotional single. It spent 13 weeks on the chart, earning it a record for the longest chart run on the download chart, despite no official release. It peaked at #6 whilst charting. When the album was released, both fans and critics regarded "Last Train Home" as the stand-out track on the album. There were many petitions put online by fans for "Last Train Home" to be released as a single. In 2015, after confirming that "Last Train Home" would be a single, Dahlia revealed "we always knew it would be a single, it's everyone's favourite song on the album, but we didn't want to release it early on in the album campaign, we'd rather it was a bit later just to keep the success going." The release of the song also marks Pandora's first chart appearance in two years.

Critical reception

"Last Train Home" received universal acclaim from music critics. Rick Florino of Artist Direct gave the song 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "Oscar-worthy", with "a cinematic heft to the track that makes it utterly vivid and vibrant." Florino also praised Dahlia's performance, calling it "one of her best ever, fortifying the hook and harmony masterfully." Lewis Corner of Digital Spy praised Dahlia for "reminding us why she always sounds infinitely better when heading up a ballad", calling it "a beautifully simplistic ode to heartache that evidently connects."

Jon O'Brien of Yahoo! Music noted that the song features Pandora's "most restrained and indeed impressive vocal", calling the song " as emotive as it is theatrical." Melinda Newman of HitFix praised Dahlia for "show[ing] admirable restraint vocally, beautifully pairing with Pandora's vocals." Sam Lansky of Idolator wrote that the song "was already pretty heartrending, but Dahlia's vocals provide some lovely support and additional pathos; it's a relief to hear that she enriches, rather than overwhelms, the track." Bradley Stern of MuuMuse praised the "slow, sad piano melody", the "mournful strings," calling it "a haunting production;– showing that less is often more."

Music video

The music video premiered on 8th September 2015.

The video begins showing a run down and deserted place. Inside the ruins of a building is a man holding Pandora in his arms in the pouring rain. He lets her down to stand up herself, and the pair embrace before he turns his back on her and walks away. It is from here that Pandora begins her last walk home. She starts walking through the pouring rain alone, through empty streets.

Eventually Pandora reaches the beach. As the song is about Dahlia returning home to Liechtenstein, a foreign land, in the video the moon is shown to represent the "home", as it is perhaps the most recognisable foreign land of all, although in the video it is emphasised even more, becoming a light almost reflecting the last light somebody see's before they pass away. Pandora walks across the beach towards the direction of the moon, almost like a fly attracted to the light.

Dahlia is then shown to be under the ocean that Pandora is standing facing. She sings whilst the moon light illuminates not only Pandora's face, but also the dark ocean water that Dahlia is singing in. Pandora, loosing sense in her journey home, continues walking towards the moon, walking directly into the ocean. A struggle is shown between Pandora and the ocean as she tries to escape it. Clips of Pandora and Dahlia under the ocean together are also shown for very brief moments.

Eventually the man from the start of the video pulls Pandora's deceased body from out of the water, and carries her back into the empty streets she once walked down.

The final scene of the video is the exact same clip used at the start of the video, however this time it plays backwards, showing Pandora walking through the streets, then arriving back at the ruin, and back into the arms of the man, as he lifts her up and holds her corpse in his arms, showing that she has finally found peace. By using the same scene backwards, it symbolises that the journey ends the same as it begins. The video gradually pans out away from the building, still using the video's first scene in reverse.

Track listing

CD1

1. "Last Train Home"
2. "last Train Home" (Radio edit)
3. "Ghost"

Performances

• This Morning - 23 September 2015
• Strictly Come Dancing - 25 September 2015

Chart performance

Upon it's release, "Last Train Home" debuted at #3 with first week sales of 82,313 copies sold, giving Dahlia her third consecutive top three charting single.

Prior to be announced as a single, "Last Train Home" was released alongside the album in the summer of 2013 to the Download chart, where it spent 13 consecutive weeks on the chart, reaching a peak of #6. Upon it's release, it re-entered the charts at #1, giving Dahlia her third consecutive chart topper on the Digital chart. After being announced as a single in August 2015, the song entered the Airplay chart at #37 and rose to #24 the following week. It then entered the top twenty at #17 then #16. On the song's actual release week, it rose into the top ten at #6, becoming Dahlia's highest position on the Airplay chart to date. The song has also become Dahlia's longest charting and best selling single.

Chart Run

• Week 1: #3 - 82,313
• Week 2: #7 - 58,634
• Week 3: #13 - 15,625
• Week 4: #26 - 7,569
• Week 5: #29 - 6,290
• Week 6: #32 - 4,664
• Week 7: #36 - 3,352
• Week 8: #40 - 2,103
• Week 9: #35 - 4,165
• Week 10: #31 - 6,034
• Week 11: #35 - 4,289
• Week 12: #39 - 2,687
• Week 13: #31 - 6,380
• Week 14: #22 - 12,447
• Week 15: #24 - 9,186
• Week 16: #22 - 9,931
• Week 17: #28 - 7,663
• Week 18: #32 - 5,547
• Week 19: #33 - 5,340
• Week 20: #35 - 5,095
• Week 21: #37 - 3,985
• Week 22: #24 - 9,775
• Week 22: #24 - 9,775
• Week 23: #28 - 7,055
• Week 24: #33 - 4,740
• Week 25: #26 - 8,586
• Week 26: #27 - 7,699
• Week 27: #30 - 5,945
• Week 28: #35 - 4,095
• Week 29: #40 - 2,722

TOTAL: 313,916

Charts

Charts (2015)	Peak
UK Singles Chart	3
UK Downloads Chart	1
UK Airplay Chart	6