Trainwreck 1979

Album: The Physical World (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On November 10, 1979, a freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals derailed just north of the intersection of Mavis Road and Dundas Street in the Canadian city of Mississauga, Ontario. One of the tank cars carrying propane exploded, and as other tank cars were carrying chlorine, the decision was made to evacuate the local residents. 218,000 people left Mississauga, the largest peacetime evacuation in North American history. There were no fatalities, thanks to to the speed and efficiency in which the evacuation was conducted.

    Death From Above 1979 frontman Sebastien Grainger was born in Mississauga the same year as the trainwreck and this song finds him reflected on the incident. He told NME: "There was a huge chemical spill and it became a sort of fable where I grew up."

    "I heard about it my whole life," Grainger continued, "and when I started writing this song it resonated with my childhood. I wanted to spell it out. This is what happened: a train exploded and nobody died."

Comments: 1

  • Adrienne from OntarioI lived on Bodmin Rd, off Truscott Rd, Mississauga when the derailment took place. We evacuated to Brampton. Calls were received from all over the world, wanting to know how the evacuation was incredible, no car accidents, no one panicked.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin Popoff

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin PopoffSong Writing

A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.

Little Richard

Little RichardFact or Fiction

Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.

Psychedelic Lyrics

Psychedelic LyricsMusic Quiz

Whoa man! Do you know which band came up with these cosmic lyrics?

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Francesca Battistelli

Francesca BattistelliSongwriter Interviews

The 2011 Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards isn't your typical gospel diva, and she thinks that's a good thing.