About The Song
“Old Toy Trains” (sometimes titled “Little Toy Trains”) is a Christmas song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Roger Miller. He recorded the track in 1967 for Smash Records, which released it as a single late that year with “Silent Night” on the B-side. The record appeared as Smash 2130 in the U.S. and runs just over two minutes, placing it in line with typical radio-friendly single lengths of the era. Discographies list it as Miller’s final 1967 single, followed in early 1968 by his hit “Little Green Apples.”
Miller wrote “Old Toy Trains” specifically for his young son Dean. Contemporary accounts and later features note that the song was conceived as a gentle Christmas lullaby from a parent to a child, reflecting Miller’s more sentimental side alongside his better-known novelty and story songs. Smash had avoided issuing Christmas singles for several years, and label notes point out that releasing Miller’s track in 1967 effectively ended an eight-year internal ban on seasonal singles.
The single drew favorable attention from the music press. A 1967 review in Billboard described “Old Toy Trains” as one of Miller’s most moving ballads and praised his understated performance. Although it did not become a major pop hit, chart summaries indicate that the record received holiday airplay and modest national exposure, enough to keep it in circulation on Christmas playlists of the period. Later commentary often refers to it as an “underrated” country Christmas title compared with more heavily promoted seasonal songs of the late 1960s.
Lyrically, the song is written in the voice of an adult addressing a small child at bedtime on Christmas Eve. The opening lines describe “old toy trains,” “little toy tracks” and other simple toys carried in a sack by a man dressed in red and white, clearly alluding to Santa Claus. The narrator gently urges the child to go to sleep so that the presents can arrive. The language is straightforward and repetitive, using familiar Christmas images and a limited vocabulary suited to a children’s song, which matches its origin as something written for Miller’s own son.
Musically, “Old Toy Trains” is a quiet country-pop ballad. The tempo is slow to mid-tempo, with a simple melody and restrained arrangement typical of late-1960s Nashville recordings. While detailed session personnel for the single are not widely documented, later reissues categorize it alongside Miller’s other Smash material, produced by Jerry Kennedy, with gentle rhythm accompaniment and light orchestral touches. The emphasis remains on the vocal and lyric rather than on instrumental solos or complex production.
Since its initial release, “Old Toy Trains” has attracted numerous cover versions in both country and pop contexts. Glen Campbell recorded it for his 1968 Christmas album That Christmas Feeling, helping introduce the song to a broader easy-listening audience. The Statler Brothers included it on their 1985 album Christmas Present, and it has also been recorded by artists such as Nana Mouskouri, Raffi, Toby Keith, Scott Miller, Nick Lowe and others, with some versions marketed primarily to children and families. In 2002, a duet version was assembled using Roger Miller’s original vocal combined with new vocals from his son Dean, underlining the song’s family origin.
The melody has also travelled into other languages, most notably through the French adaptation “Petit garçon,” recorded in 1968 by Graeme Allwright and later covered by Nana Mouskouri and others. In 2014 that French version was adopted as the official song of the Téléthon charity event in France, further extending the tune’s reach outside the English-speaking world. More recently, groups such as Pentatonix have kept the song in circulation on modern Christmas releases, confirming its place as a recurring seasonal piece. While not as universally known as some of Johnny Marks’s or Irving Berlin’s Christmas standards, Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains” remains a respected and frequently revisited example of a gentle, family-oriented country Christmas song.
Video
Lyric
Old toy trains, little toy tracks
Little boy toys, comin’ from a sack
Carried by a man dressed in white and red
Little boy don’t you think it?s time you where in bed?
Close your eyes, listen to the skies
All is calm, all is well
Soon you’ll hear Kris Kringle and the jingle bells
Bringin’ old toy trains, little toy tracks
Little boy toys, comin’ form a sack
Carried by a man dressed in white and red
Little boy don’t you think it?s time you where in bed?
Close your eyes, listen to the skies
All is calm, all is well
Soon you’ll hear Kris Kringle and the jingle bells
Bringin’ old toy trains, little toy tracks
Little boy toys comin’ form a sack
Carried by a man dressed in white and red
Little boy don’t you think it?s time you where in bed?