Quiet Town

Album: Pressure Machine (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A couple of kids got hit by a Union Pacific train
    Carrying sheet metal and household appliances through the pouring rain


    In 1994, Tiffany JaNae Taylor and Raymond Leo Newton were killed in a grade-crossing accident with a Union Pacific train. The couple, who were both from Brandon Flowers' hometown of Nephi, Utah, were just 17 years old. The Killers frontman was in the eighth grade at the time of the tragic event.

    During this country heartbreaker, Flowers laments the loss of the two seniors from his high school. He admitted to NME that as he wrote the song he found himself still really affected by the train accident. "I had seen one of them that morning," Flowers said. "They had a baby. I didn't go to grief counseling, they weren't my best friends – but I was just shocked at how emotional I was when I started to write this verse."
  • The Killers recorded this song for Pressure Machine, a record based on memories and stories that impacted Flowers growing up in Nephi. During the second verse, Flowers reflects on kids in his hometown overdosing on opioids. He told NME that the drug epidemic is one that has continued to this day. "We saw more overdose deaths in 2020 during the pandemic than any other year in recorded history. It hasn't given – not even a little bit," Flowers said. "It's affected my family and other people in the band's families. It's just a huge tragedy that America is facing."
  • On the chorus, Flowers sings of the tragedies that have befallen the "quiet town" with the good and hardworking lives led by most of its inhabitants.
  • The song starts off with a recording of a man pointing out how people in the small town die every two or three years when crossing the train tracks. A voiceover of a current resident of Nephi precedes each track on Pressure Machine.
  • Brandon Flowers wrote the song with Jonathan Rado of the rock duo Foxygen. Rado also co-produced the track with Shawn Everett.
  • Rado filled in on bass as Killers bassist Mark Stoermer was unavailable because of difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • That's Joe Pug playing the harmonica. The Maryland singer-songwriter also contributes harmonica work to the Pressure Machine tracks "West Hills" and "Terrible Thing," plus guitar on "Runaway Horses."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."