On a Bus to St. Cloud

On a Bus to St. Cloud

"On a Bus to St. Cloud"
Single by Trisha Yearwood
from the album Thinkin' About You
B-side	"O Mexico"
Released	November 1995 (1995-11)
Genre	Country country pop
Length	3:51
Label	MCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Gretchen Peters
Producer(s)	Garth Fundis
Trisha Yearwood singles chronology
"I Wanna Go Too Far" (1995) "On a Bus to St. Cloud" (1995) "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)" (1996)

"On a Bus to St. Cloud" is a song written by Gretchen Peters that was originally recorded by American country artist Trisha Yearwood. It was released in 1995 as the fifth (and final) single from her fourth studio album, Thinkin' About You. The song charted on the Billboard country songs survey that year and was received positively by music critics. Peters included her own version of the song on her 1996 debut album The Secret of Life, an acoustic version on her 2015 album Blackbirds and a live version on her 2022 album The Show.

Background and content

In an interview with American Songwriter, Gretchen Peters explained her reasons for writing "On a Bus to St. Cloud." Peters explained that she had composed the song when planning a cross-country trip of the United States. Looking at a paper map, her eyes then "drifted north" towards the city of St. Cloud, Minnesota and believed it to be a quality song title. The original demonstration tape was also performed by Peters. Two days later, it was brought to the attention of Trisha Yearwood from the demo's bass player, Dave Pomeroy. By the third day, it was formally recorded by Yearwood.

The song was recorded in 1994 at Sound Emporium Studios, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The session was produced by Garth Fundis, Yearwood's long-time record producer. Rick Moore of American Songwriter described the song as being about a person believes to see their former lover despite that they committed suicide. Thom Owens of Allmusic made the song an "album pick" when reviewing her fourth studio album.

Release and music video

"On a Bus to St. Cloud" was released in November 1995 via MCA Nashville Records. It was issued as both a CD single and a vinyl single. Included on the single was a B-side, "O Mexico," which was later released on her fourth album. On December 2, 1995, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but only reached a minor position on the chart. Rick Moore of American Songwriter later commented that "a lot of people thought was a bit of an injustice" for failing to become a major hit on country radio.

"On a Bus to St. Cloud" was first released on Yearwood's fourth studio album entitled, Thinkin' About You. It was the fifth single released from the album and her first solo single in her career to miss the top 40 of the country chart.

Track listing

CD single

• "On a Bus to St. Cloud" – 3:51

7" vinyl single

• "On a Bus to St. Cloud" – 3:51
• "O Mexico" – 3:56

Charts

Chart (1995–1996)	Peak position
Canada Country Songs (RPM)	59

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Thinkin' About You.

• Carl Gorodetzky – contractor
• Aubrey Haynie – fiddle
• The Nashville String Machine – strings
• Matt Rollings – piano
• Mark Watters – conductor, arranger
• Trisha Yearwood – lead vocals