The Sinking Night
by AFI

Album: Burials (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The songs for AFI's ninth studio album, Burials, were written during a dark time in vocalist Davey Havok's life, and his personal pain infiltrated much of the lyrical content. On this rip roaring cut he croons:

    The blackness drips down from both my hands
    The gold in my palm was mistaken for sand
    Can you feel it?


    Davey told Radio.com that the writing of this album was therapeutic. "There was a catharsis in the writing process and there was strangely distance from what I was experiencing," he said. "Despite there being focus on that chaos within the content of what I was creating, it allowed for an escape, which was a strange dichotomy. But it was there and so that was very, very helpful in a way."
  • "The Sinking Night" is the lead track from AFI's 2013 album Burials. In a track-by-track video feature for the Rock Sound YouTube channel, Davey Havok said the song was "actually a fragment of a greater track that we wrote." He then explained, "[T]he fragment that you hear that opens the record was actually recorded when I had left the studio. I came back and the guys had taken the greater song and edited it down after having a conversation thinking that it would be a good piece to open the record."

    Davey added, "When I hear the song, I actually always envision the greater work, which may not ever be heard by anyone."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian OrchestraSongwriter Interviews

Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.