In a 1989 NPR interview, Blane said the song was inspired by a picture of a double-decker trolley that he found while rummaging through turn-of-the-century newspapers at the Beverly Hills Public Library. The picture's caption read, "Clang, clang, here comes the trolley."[4] Blane showed the picture to Martin and told him, "Hugh, look at this. And Hugh said, clang, clang, clang went the trolley, and about - it was very few minutes, he had the whole thing going. In fact, it didn't take long to write that song at all once we got the first line."[4]
The song has been used in Walt Disney World'sMagic Kingdom theme park in Florida as one of the core soundtrack numbers for the dance performances during the Main Street Trolley Show.[8]
Covers
Five versions of the song charted in 1944-45. Garland's single and a version by the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra—sung as a duet by Monroe and Marilyn Duke—both peaked at number four, but the biggest hit version was by the Pied Pipers, which hit number two on Billboard magazine's "Best Selling Retail Records" chart the week of December 16, 1944.[9]
Numerous jazz interpretations have been released, such as the one by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in March 1954. The quartet recorded another version in 1962 and included it on the Bossa Nova U.S.A. album.[13] The distinctive structure of "The Trolley Song"—in which the end of the second and third verses introduce a new melodic line and simulate the feeling that the song is taking off like the accelerating motion of a trolley—lends itself to jazz improvisation.[14]
