Blue Brush-Footed Butterfly

Album: Mad Dog In The Fog (2026)

Songfacts®:

  • Train frontman Pat Monahan says "Blue Brush-Footed Butterfly," a song from the band's 2026 album, Mad Dog In The Fog, is "a love story about trying to tame someone." He continued in a 2026 interview with the Off The Record podcast, "And trying to tame a human or convert them into what you're hoping they'll be for you is basically like trying to tame a butterfly."
  • Monahan wanted a song title that was California-related, so he looked up butterflies that are native to Northern California and stumbled upon the brush-footed family, which includes the Monarch butterfly, the Lorquin's Admiral, and the Hackberry Emperor. While the "Blue Hackberry Emperor" sounds pretty metal, it's probably not a good fit for a love song.
  • The album is about the band's origin story, centering on Monahan's journey from his native Pennsylvania to San Francisco and the relationships he had along the way. Train debuted in 1998 with their self-titled album, which yielded their first hit single, "Meet Virginia," but their career really took off two years later with the smash "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)."

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