Tomato in the Rain

Album: Off With Their Heads (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vocalist Ricky Wilson (from The Sun October 17, 2008): "We could have had the opening line 'I'm a bit lonely' but no one would have picked up on that. It's all about visualizing things. People say, 'What's it about?' And I go, 'What do you think?' They always say, 'Someone being lonely'. Why ask the question?"
  • Kaiser Chief bassist Simon Rix explained the song's unusual title to Drowned In Sound: "This song has a title that everyone seems to be intrigued by. We had written most of the music for this song in Old Chapel (a rehearsal room in Leeds) and then the title just came out of nowhere. When we are playing in the room, Rick and Nick (Hodgson, drums) often just sing things over the top until they come up with something good. Sometimes the best lyrics just come into your head. So one of them will be singing something and then one of them will say; 'did you say 'Tomato In The Rain'?' The idea will then develop from there. I think in this case Nick came up with the title then Ricky went away and wrote the rest of the words."
  • Rix commented to Drowned in Sound: "There's a lot more imagery on this album than the last one. Particularly in this song. It's meant to be a laid back Beach Boys kind of song and features some old fashioned style backing vocals from Nick that you don't really hear much any more."
  • On this track, the band's keyboardist, Nick 'Peanut' Baines, played a Farfisa organ, which was put through guitarist Andrew White's amplifier.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Don Felder

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Ralph Casale  - Session Pro

Ralph Casale - Session ProSongwriter Interviews

A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."