Languishing (The Interlude)

Album: Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On this song Carey sings about being stuck in a relationship with someone she feels she still doesn't know, despite being with him for many years.
  • This song was co-written and produced by longtime collaborator Big Jim Wright, who helmed several tracks on the album. Carey told MTV News: "I worked with Big Jim Wright, who works with Sounds of Blackness a lot, and so there's live-feeling songs on the album. A lot of my fans, since I've been twittering, a lot of the fans are like, 'We want some live-sounding stuff,' so you have to find that middle ground."
  • In a 2009 interview with Paper magazine, Carey described this as a sad song about a crisis of faith. "Something happened to me when I was 12. A couple things that were not so great," she explained. "One day I want to write a book about it." Carey did write a memoir in 2020 called The Meaning Of Mariah Carey. Although she didn't reveal the specific influence behind the song, she did recall a traumatic memory from when she was 12 years old and her older sister drugged her at a stranger's house.
  • For Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, her 12th studio album, Carey wanted to share all aspects of her personality with her fans, from the outspoken humor on "Up Out My Face" to the quiet introspection on this track. "Each song has its own mood," she told Elle. "Some flow seamlessly into each other, and that was the purpose, and others are very different. The album has a sense of humor, [you can hear me laughing out loud at certain points], but it also has deep and introspective moments."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.