Rock City

Album: Mechanical Bull (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Caleb Followill letting rip as he sings about desperately searching for something. The vocalist is possibly alluding to his burnout after years of constant recording and gigging, which climaxed with him walking offstage halfway through a Dallas show in 2011 and Kings of Leon subsequently having to cancel the rest of the tour. Caleb croons:

    "I've been several miles and plenty more
    And I found myself face first on the floor
    Searching for something, and never finding something
    And I don't know where I belong
    I'm just trying to get myself back home."

    "You could tell he was pouring his heart out," drummer Nathan Followill told The Daily Telegraph. "It was almost like he didn't feel comfortable enough telling us face to face how he felt but he would put it in the lyrics and get up and sing it all day long. We're as close as close can get, we're family. We know everything about each other, but this was a glimpse into his private world."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.