Soul Asylum - Runaway Train

"Runaway Train" is a power ballad by American rock band Soul Asylum. Its music video is notable for featuring images of missing people, most of them young children and teenagers. Lead singer Dave Pirner has stated that the lyrics originally described his experience of depression. "Runaway Train" was released in June 1993 as the fourth single from the band's 1992 album, Grave Dancers Union, and became a success around the world. It reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to the top position on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart, earning a gold sales certification from the Recording Industry Association of America and selling 600,000 copies in the US. Outside North America, it reached number two in New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland and peaked within the top five on the charts on several other European countries. The song helped bring their album, Grave Dancers Union, to a multi-platinum level and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1994. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Acoustic-anchored midtempo tune has a sweet, string-lined undercurrent that is the perfect embodiment of the song's cinematic, romantic lyrics." He added, "Icing on top is a restrained lead vocal and pillowy harmonies. Deserves immediate play." The Daily Vaults Christopher Thelen felt the song was "too sappy and slow". Dave Sholin from Gavin Report commented, "Groups like Soul Asylum don't come around very often and neither do songs like this one. For a riveting and chilling experience, go immediately to your VCR and watch the video, which gets my vote as best of the year! A song that truly deserves to become a runaway hit." Music & Media described it as a "alternative guitar-driven pop combo", "temporarily injected with a dash of country." Chris Mundy from Rolling Stone called it a "beautiful acoustic ballad". According to Tony Kaye, 26 missing children were found after being featured in the video. In 2006, guitarist Dan Murphy stated in an interview with Pasadena Weekly that some of the cases featured in the video had ended in tragedy: "Some weren't the best scenarios. I met a fireman on the East Coast whose daughter was in the end of the video, and he'd been in a bitter custody battle with his wife over her", Murphy said. "It turned out the girl hadn't run away, but was killed and buried in her backyard by her mother. Then on tour, another girl told us laughingly 'You ruined my life' because she saw herself on the video at her boyfriend's house and it led her being forced back into a bad home situation." The UK version of the video featured Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol, who each went missing in 1991. Their remains were found in 2007 at a house in Margate. Peter Tobin has since been convicted of both murders. Also featured in the UK version was Mark Bartley, a runaway who went missing in 1992. He was recognized in the video by a man who knew Bartley was staying in the tenant's house below them, but was unaware of his missing status. By the time the police arrived, Bartley and the man he was living with were gone. It is unknown what happened to him after this. Curtis Huntzinger, who was featured in the US video, was located deceased in 2008. His convicted killer, Stephen Daniel Hash, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and, in 2009, was sentenced to 11 years in Folsom State Prison. The last image in all three U.S. versions of the song is Thomas Dean Gibson, who disappeared from Douglas County, Oregon in 1991 at the age of 2. He is still missing as of 2019, and age-progressed photos of him at age 19 and age 21 were released in 2009 and 2012, respectively, by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. His father, Larry Gibson, a former deputy sheriff, was convicted of second degree manslaughter for accidentally shooting his son to death when he shot at a stray cat in his front yard even though no remains were ever found. He steadfastly denies killing his son and has worked on finding him since being released from prison in 1996. The version shown in Australia showed a number of young backpacking tourists whose families were looking for them. Many of those shown in the Australian version were confirmed victims of serial killer Ivan Milat, who was arrested in 1994 not long after the Australian film clip was released. Also featured in the video, but still missing as of June 2020 were Christopher Kerze, Martha Dunn, Andrea Durham, Wilda Benoit, Byron Eric Page, Kimberly Doss, Duane Fochtman, John Lango and Patrick Betz.