Locked in the Trunk of a Car

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"Locked in the Trunk of a Car"
Single by the Tragically Hip
from the album Fully Completely
ReleasedOctober 1992
GenreRock
Length4:42
LabelMCA
Songwriterthe Tragically Hip
ProducerChris Tsangarides
The Tragically Hip singles chronology
"On the Verge"
(1991) 		"Locked in the Trunk of a Car"
(1992) 		"Fifty Mission Cap"
(1992)
Alternative Cover

"Locked in the Trunk of a Car" is a song by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip. It was released in October 1992 as the lead single from their third studio album, Fully Completely. The song peaked at No. 11 on Canada's RPM Singles Chart.[1]

Background

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The song had been fully written and performed live a year before the recording of Fully Completely, although elements of the song date back even further. The intro riff was composed in the late 1980s by the band's bassist, Gord Sinclair, on an acoustic guitar,[2] and lyrics that would end up part of the song date back to a story that Gord Downie told in a 1991 live performance of the song "Highway Girl," which was released as the B-Side to the single "Twist My Arm".[3]

Many fans of the band have speculated that Gord Downie wrote the song about the murder of Pierre Laporte, the Minister of Labour in Quebec, by the FLQ during the October Crisis in 1970. This is because Laporte's corpse was found locked in the trunk of a car.[4][5] Downie never confirmed this interpretation,[5] and has stated that the lyrics are a metaphor.[6]

Music video

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The music video for the song features a transition between the band playing on a soundstage and a man locked in a car trunk with his hands tied in rope, as another man (played by the band's road manager Dave Powell) drives the car around the Canadian Prairies.[7] The video was directed by Peter Henderson and produced by Eric Yealland. Cinematographer was Sean Valentini.[7]

The video won the award for "Best Video" at the 1993 Canadian Music Video Awards.[8] The video was also nominated in the "Best Video" category at the 1993 Juno Awards.[9]

Covers

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  • Our Lady Peace performed a cover of the song during their 30th anniversary tour in 2025.[11]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by the Tragically Hip.[12]

No.TitleLength
1."Locked in the Trunk of a Car"4:38
2."Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)/Locked in the Trunk of a Car" (Live)8:55
Total length:13:33

Charts

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Chart (1992) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[1] 11

References

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  1. ^ a b "Top Singles - Volume 56, No. 23, December 05 1992". RPM. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  2. ^ "How to Play 'Locked in the Trunk of a Car' | Rob Baker Guitar Tutorial". YouTube. 2025.
  3. ^ Michael Barclay, The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip. ECW Press, 2018. ISBN 9781770414365.
  4. ^ "The true, tragic and inspiring Canadian stories behind Gord Downie's best lyrics". CBC Music. 2019.
  5. ^ a b "No Last Waltz". The Walrus. 2017.
  6. ^ "Gord Downie Explains "Locked in the Trunk of a Car"". YouTube. 2024.
  7. ^ a b "The Tragically Hip - Archive". thehip.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  8. ^ "Tragically Hip snags three awards at Much video gala" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  9. ^ "Yearly Summary | the JUNO Awards". Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  10. ^ "Justin Rutledge Ropes In Brendan Canning, Jenn Grant, Andy Maize for Tragically Hip Covers Album" Archived 2014-04-09 at the Wayback Machine. Exclaim!, January 30, 2014.
  11. ^ "Review: Our Lady Peace brings 30 years of hits to the Saddledome with anniversary concert". Calgary Herald. February 20, 2025.
  12. ^ Locked in the Trunk of a Car (CD). The Tragically Hip. MCA. 1992.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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