Don't Wanna Fight

Album: Sound & Color (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard penned this funky soul cut about global warfare. She told The Observer that it was inspired by "people killing each other because of ridiculous assumptions. Are you a Shiite? Are you a Jew?"
  • Alabama Shakes performed the song live for the first time on the February 28, 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live.
  • The song's performance video was filmed at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles by director and rock photographer Danny Clinch, who is known for capturing the live shows of Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam. Capitol Studios opened in 1956, and has hosted such artists as Frank Sinatra and the Beastie Boys over the years.
  • The song was also inspired by the Alabama Shakes members' difficult early days when they were trying to balance their commitments to the band and their day jobs. Brittany Howard explained to UK newspaper The Independent that it's about, "when you're working to get ahead but you can't because every time you try, someone gonna take it from you. Like when I used to work and I was going to school and paying my utility bills and you end up with not enough at the end of the day but you go to work anyway and there's still not enough and lots of people live that way."
  • This won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the 2016 ceremony, where the band also performed the song.

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