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Singer Isaac Slade and guitarist Joe King penned this song in a remote studio in Leipers Fork, just outside of Nashville. Slade told the story of the song to Denver Westword: "This one came from thin air, you know? We started with this idea of twins, two sisters, one makes it one doesn't. We really wrote it about the one that is left, the survivor, who's sort of wracked with guilt, like 'Why me?' We kind of put it in contrast to this African concept of Sankofa. It's basically this concept of: If your village burns down, go back to it and pick through the ashes and find anything good and then take it with you and leave and never look back. It's like an acknowledgment of tragedy and hardship, alongside celebration, almost, and thankfulness for what you have. Kind of run as fast as you can from that black hole of guilt."
The song's music was filmed by director Declan Whitebloom (Taylor Swift's "
Mean") in the Los Angeles suburbs on February 13, 2012.
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