When the Sun Don't Shine

Album: American Band (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Truckers co-frontman Patterson Hood moved to the cooler milieu of Portland, Oregon, after living in Alabama for 30 years and Athens, Georgia for another 21. He explained to Uncut magazine that this song is not only about the more equable place Hood now resides in, bur is also about the region's cooler weather.

    "It rains a lot up there, and for about seven months of the year it's grey, so people would say, 'Oh, you're going to hate that!', and I'd be, like, ' No, I'm OK with that - what I hate is 100 degree summers! With 99 per cent humidity!' It's a bit more personal than the rest of the songs on the record, though it all fits together.

    That song and Ever South are different sides of the same coin: one's about the place I left, and what I took with me, the other's about where we moved to."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Album Cover Inspirations

Album Cover InspirationsSong Writing

Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.