Hi!
I'm a researcher for Professor Joe Scanlon. We have now completed a study of songs about mining disasters and a study of songs about the Titanic. This research has suggested that folk songs are a more accurate representation of what actually happens in disasters than are other forms of popular culture (such as movies, novels, ect.). We want to understand why.
To do this, we are expanding our study of folk songs to include many other Canadian incidents and are thus looking for more songs – all suggestions about any Canadian disaster related songs are welcome! Any information would be excellent – the song title, name of the artist, where we can find the words, what it is about etc. I have pasted our current list of songs below. We are missing information for some. Corrections are also welcome.   

Thanks for your time,
A---V



"(The) Miramichi Fire" Unknown Words by John Jardine [This is about a fire which swept through the Miramichi region of New Brunswick in 1825]
"(The) Miramichi Fire" – 1
"(The) Miramichi Fire" -II and IV
"(The) Miramichi Fire" – III
"Seven Bells Waltzes" Dulder, F. [THIS IS APPARENTLY INSTRUMENTS ONLY – BUT IT IS ABOUT THE MIRAMICHI FIRE WHICH STARTED OCTOBER 5TH 1825]
Doucette, Edmund "The Miramichi Fire" [This is about a devastating and fatal forest fire along the Miramichi in 1825]
"The Union from St. John's" UNKNOWN
"The Wreck of the Union" UNKNOWN
"Franklin and His Bold Crew" as sung by Angelo Dornan, Elgin, N.B. This is short song about the failed Franklin expedition. They left England in 1845 with 200 men, never to return again
"Franklin and his Ship's Crew" is a different song than Creighton sited in her book Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick
"(The) Franklin Expedition" -A as "sung by Joe Cooke, Fortune Harbour, 1929. Words from James Day, Fortune Harbour, 1929."
"(The) Franklin Expedition" -B "Words from Mrs. Minnie Payne, Green Point, 1929."
"Lady Franklin's Lament" Unknown THIS IS ABOUT THE LOSS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC IN 1845 "The Franklin Expedition" –C "Words from Stephen John Lewis, Fleur de Lys, 1929."
"The Excel" performed by Mary "Min" Caul (Arnold's Cove), 1977
"The Excel" performed by Dorman Ralph (St. John's 1977)
"The Loss of the Atlantic" Unknown
"The Wreck of the Atlantic" from the singing and recitation of Robert Langille (Tatamagouche, Colchester County)
"(La) Complainte de Springhill" Unknown" [May be the first Springhill, Nova Scotia mine disaster – February 21, 1891]
"Springhill Mine Disaster (1891)" Performed by Ruth Metcalfe for Helen Creighton. (Creighton p. 185)
"Loss of the Maggie" UNKNOWN
"The Maggie" UNKNOWN
"The Greenland Disaster" UNKNOWN
"(The) Ballad of the Frank Slide" Robert Gard [Rocks from Turtle Mountain came crashing down on Frank, Alberta – April 29, 1902]
"Crashing Down" Tanglefoot [Another song about the Frank slide, April 29, 1903, when rocks came crashing down from Turtle Mountain, hitting the town of Frank, Alberta and barely missing a passing train, leaving more than 70 residents dead.] The singers say they tell a tangential story that is in fact fiction.
"Frank Slide" (The) Travellers [April 29, 1903, rocks came crashing down from Turtle Mountain, hitting the town of Frank, Alberta and barely missing a passing train, leaving more than 70 residents dead.]
"How the Mountain Came Down" Stompin' Tom Connors [Presumably this is about the Frank Slide April 29, 1903, rocks came crashing down from Turtle Mountain, hitting the town of Frank, Alberta and barely missing a passing train, leaving more than 70 residents dead.] The album is called Tragedy Trail
"The Timmins 100th Anniversary Song" Susan (Stanlake) Gauthier (Vocals), Tony Last (Bass), Michael Armstrong (Harmonica), Diane Armstrong (Keyboard, Music & Lyrics) – This song recounts "One Hundred Years of History" for the Town of Timmins. One of the Four verses describes the South Porcupine Fire. There is also a French translation of the song.
"Loss of John Harvey" UNKOWN
"The Wreck of the John Harvey" Stompin' Tom Connors
"The Wreck of the John Harvey" The Dorymen (on album "20 Great Hits of Newfoundland")
"The Wreck of the John Harvey" Lillian Crewe Walsh
Hutchison, Frank "(The) Last Scene of the Titanic" Recorded April 29, 1927 in St. Louis [Titanic sank in the Atlantic in 1912 but many bodies were brought to Halifax]
"Titanic" Unknown
Smith, Vesey and William "When that Great Ship went Down" [This is the one about Titanic which sank in the Atlantic in 1912]
"The Band's Still Playing" Lennie Gallant
"Titanic: A New Musical" Peter Stone (book) and Maury Yeston (lyrics and music)
Parsons, Marion "(The) Newfoundland Sealing Disaster" (2004)
Parsons, Marion "I will bring you home" A song about the Newfoundland sealing disaster
"Young, Young Man" Modabo [This is on the Newfoundland Sealing Disaster].
"The Southern Cross" Unknown
"Newfoundland Sealers" Bill Gallaher
"The Newfoundland Disaster" Jean Pardy [ABOUT THE SEALING DISASTER??
Dufour, Cyrice "(La) catastrophe de l'Empress of Ireland" [This song has been issued by Radio Canada and is on the CD "Chants et complaintes maritimes de Terres francaises d'Amerique"}
Three Points Gone (Celtic Band) NOT SURE OF TITLE OF SONG BUT CD WITH THE SONG IS TITLED, "There is a ship"
Lawrence, Susan "Empress of Ireland" [This has been non-commercially recorded by
Sweet Tyme].
Morton, Brian "(The) Empress of Ireland" Brian Morton's [This is in his CD "A Lonely Cairn of Stones"]
"Hillcrest Mine" James Keelaghan [There were a series of gas explosions in the Hillcrest mine in Hillcrest, Alberta, 189 miners killed – June 9, 1914]
"Auction Days," Jon Brooks (2007; from the album Ours and Shepherds)
Men of the Deeps "(The) Omen" It refers to the 1917 explosion in No. 12 Colliery in New Waterford on July 25, 1917.
Timmons, Angus. "New Waterford's Fatal Day"
Unknown "My Brother's Fate New Waterford's Fatal Day" July 25, 1917 Explosion in Dominion Mine at New Waterford
Unknown "New Waterford's Fateful Day" Unknown" July 25, 1917 Explosion in Dominion Mine at New Waterford
"No. 12 New Waterford" Unknown July 25, 1917 Explosion in Dominion Mine at New Waterford
[Unknown title] Joe Nugent [poem]
Unknown, "The Halifax Explosion" [The December 6, 1917 explosion in Halifax harbour, Canada's only catastrophe]
McKinnon, Dan "Remember Me" Recorded in 1997 [A song based on survivor's accounts from the 1917 Halifax explosion] WE HAVE THE WORDS
Endacott, Joan "The Wreck of the Florizel" A chronicle of the tragic wreck of the S.S. Florizel off Renews Rocks where 40 were saved out of 106
"(The) Florizel"
"(The) Wreck of the Steamship Florizel" Blondahl, Omar.
"Princess Sophia" Daniel Halen
"The Wreck of the Danny Goodwin" Unknown
"The Loss of the Danny Goodwin"
"Tidal Wave at Burin" Gerald Aylward [In 1929, a tsunami caused by earthquake in Gulf of St. Lawrence hit Burin, Peninsula in Newfoundland, 28 dead]
"The Annie Young" Unknown
of the Annie Young" Rosy Northcott
"The Wreck
"The Song of The Annie Young" Walter Hayman (brother of the lost cook) [a shorter version of Northcotts?]
"The August Breeze/Gale" Johnny Burke
"The August Breeze/Gale" Billy Wilson
"The 1938 Disaster" Anonymous
"Truxton and Pollux Disaster" Unknown
"Loss of the Truxton and Pollux" Simani (Bud Davidge & Sim Savory)
And also: Fate Of The Caribou (Barry Davis)
And also: The Caribou (Collected by MacEdward Leach)
See also: The S. S. Caribou (Fay Herridge/Michael T. Wall)
The S. S. Caribou (Traditional)
"Train Wreck at Almonte" Barry Luft and Tim Rogers [Songs of the Iron Rail – 1983] [A troop train crashed into a standing passenger train at Almonte, Ontario – December 27, 1942]
"Train Wreck at Almonte" Mac Beattie and the Ottawa Valley Melodiers [A troop train crashed into a standing passenger train at Almonte, Ontario – December 27, 1942]
Kingston, Jack and Earl Heywood "Noronic Disaster" [September 17, 1949 – Cruise ship Noronic burns in Toronto harbour, 119 dead Some sources say the figure is as high as 139]
"The Night Train for Southampton" words and music by Peter C. Bart
"Rescue from the Springhill Coal Mine" Don Miller
"The Springhill Disaster" Vera Coeburn
"Springhill Mine Disaster" Eddie LeGer
"Miracle at Springhill" Roy Rudolph
"Springhill Mine Explosion" Jack Kingston [This is about the second Springhill mine disaster – November 1, 1956, 39 dead]
Connors, Stompin' Tom "And the Bridge Came Tumblin' Down" [Second Narrows bridge collapse in Vancouver – June 17, 1958]
Seeger, Peggy and Ewan MacColl "The Ballad of Springhill" THIS SONG WAS RECORDED BY MORE THAN ONE GROUP [Presumably the third Springhill, Nova Scotia mine disaster — October 23, 1958] – also recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary; U2; Dubliners; Kay Porter and Fred McKenna "Springhill Mine Disaster"
"Springhill Disaster" Maurice Ruddick This is the song by a miner rescued in 1958. The title might also be "(The) Springhill Mine Disaster Song"
"Springhill" Brian Vardigans
"Buddy, Can You Hear Me Calling?" John Archbold
"Down in Springhill's Bumpy Mine" Stuart McCawley, is probably based on the poem, The Bumps, by Danny Boutilier It was published in George Korson's Coal Dust On The Fiddle. (probably written after or in response to the 1958 disaster)
"The Pill vs. The Springhill Mine Disaster" Richard Braughtigan (POEM)
"Miracle at Colliery Two" Jack Kingston
"(The) Springhill Mine Disaster Song" Val MacDonald (nee Ruddick) [MacDonald is the daughter of one the survivors of the third Springhill mine disaster in 1958 and the song was written by her father, Maurice Ruddick, and recorded 50 years later.] – Same as "No More Pickin' Coal" by Val MacDonald?
"Spring Hill Disaster" Clifton, Bill and the Dixie Mountain Boys
"Le Vent du Nord (La Mine de Springhill)" UNKNOWN
"These are Green Hills Now" Brian Vardigis
"The Blue Wave" John Sr. Lushman (Lehr p. 17)
"The Tragedy of the Blue Wave" John Sr. Lushman
*MAYBE related to Blue Wave – "One Morning I Rose From Bed" Unknown
"No. 12 New Waterford" Roy Holland
"Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" Gordon Lightfoot [The ship sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975]
"Le Désastre de Baie Ste-Anne" Jerry Hebert
"The Escuminac Disaster" Keating
"The Escuminac Disaster" Alex Milson
"Disaster at 1-B" Whyte, Anne M
"The 24th in 26" Unknown Another song about the incident in Glace Bay in 1979
Men of the Deeps "No. 26 Mine Disaster" This is the same song with a different title as "(The) Miner's Song (Ten Men Died)" It was written by Allister MacGillivray and is about the disaster at No. 26 in Glace Bay in 1979
"Mining Town of Fame"/ "Disaster at Glace Bay" (possibly the same song?), performed by Bill Smith and the Country Emotions
"No. 26 Mine Explosion: The Root Cause" Joe Nugent ("No.26 Mine Explosion: The Root Cause" is a poem rather than a song. Source: "Joe Nugent, Inspector of Mines, Ret'd," an interview with his grandson, Don Nugent, 1996. Cape Breton Magazine, Issue 70, pp 63-74.)
"Atlantic Blue" Ron Hynes
"In Memoriam" Jim Payne
"Ocean Ranger" Dominic D'Arcy
"The Ocean Ranger" Rosanna, Bruce, Grace and Carl
"Ten Thousand Miles from Shore" Murray McLaughlin
"Valentine's Disaster" Performed by Reg Watkins
Rowe, Ted "'Your Last Goodbye" THIS COULD BE THE SAME SONG THAT WAS RECORDED BY BRUCE MOSS [On the sinking of the oil rig Ocean Ranger – February 14, 1982]
"(The) Loss of the Ocean Ranger" Cal Cavendish THIS MIGHT BE THE SAME SONG AS THE ONE RECORDED BY MARY GARBEY [The sinking of the oil rig Ocean Ranger off the coast of Newfoundland 15 Feb 1982]
"(The) Ocean Ranger" Mary Garbey [On the sinking of the oil rig Ocean Ranger – February 14, 1982]
"Ocean Ranger" Michael T. Wall
"Your Last Goodbye" Bruce Moss [On the sinking of the oil rig Ocean Ranger – February 14, 1982]
"Ocean Ranger" Wiz Bryant [February 14, 1982 -- Oil rig Ocean Ranger overturns and sinks in Atlantic storm off Newfoundland, 84 dead The bodies were brought back to St. John's]
[Unknown title] Kevin Firth
"From Gander to Kentucky is a long way home" Nesbit Chhangur and sons An Ottawa group on the 1985 Gander air crash
"Sad Day in Gander" Waterman, Eric On the December 12, 1985 air crash involving the 101st Airborne
"Hinton Train Disaster" Wiz Bryant [This is in the album Spirit of the North - LP 1986]
"Aftermath" Al Provoe, performed by Men of the Deeps
"The Boys of Westray" Diane Langille
"Pictou's Black Coal" John Archibald
"Pictou County Coal" Kevin, Bob & Bar Hamilton
"The Deadly Foord Coal Seam" Steve Phalen
"Every Ounce of Coal" Tom O'Keefe
"In Daddy's Name" Shelle McCallum
"Miners' Way" Susan and Margaret Walsh
"The Miner's Song" Denis Conn, performed by John Allan Cameron on Glencoe Station, Atlantica; also by Dave Gunning
"Twenty-six Angels" Anonymous
[Unknown title] Simon Lilley [poem by son of a miner killed at Westray]
"Their Lights Will Shine" Ron MacDonald, performed by The Men of the Deeps
"Twenty-Five Miners" Father Ron McIntyre and Mike Madigan of The Sharecroppers
"26 Good Workin Boys" written by Karen Boyle, performed by her husband Gary Boyle.
"Coal Black" Lennie Gallant
"Westray" (1995) Sarah Harmer IT IS NOT CLEAR IF SHE SANG THIS AS A SINGLE WHILE WITH WEEPING TILE OR THE GROUP DID IT [Mine disaster at the Westray mine – May 9, 1992]
"Westray" (1995) Weeping Tile [Mine disaster at the Westray mine – May 9, 1992]
"Westray" (2002) Ronald Gillis (lyrics), Shane MacLean (music)
"Westray Remembered" (2000) Mclean, Sandy.
Doucette, Adrian "(The) Storm of '98" A song about the 1998 Eastern Canadian Ice Storm
"State of Emergency/Ice Storm/98" Mike Wood and Beverly
"The Ice Storm of 1998" Stan Ransom (American experience)
"The Power of Ice" Tamarack, from the album Tree
"Peggy's Cove Disaster" Eddie Coffrey
"Sleep Well, Sleep Long" Chhangur, Nesbit and songs
"The Mary Ellen Carter" Men of the Deeps
"The Mary Ellen Carter" Stan Rogers
Roberts, Bill "Some songs about a flood" Flooding along the Red River
"Red River Flood" Murray McLauchlan
"Red River Rising" James Kellaghan
"When the water goes down" Michael and Gloria Bauemeister A song about flooding along the Red River
"The Loss of Eliza"
"Loss of the Bay State" – Unknown
"The Old Bay State" Unknown
Disasters on the Great Lakes include "The Loss of the Schooner Antelope," "The Loss of the Maggie Hunter," and "The Foundering of the Asia." These songs can be found on Songs of the Great Lakes (Folk FE-4018).
A train accident at Montreal's Windsor station in 1909 prompted Henri Miro and Raoul Collet to write "La catastrophe de la gare Windsor."