Wake the Dead

Album: Along Came A Spider (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Cooper co-wrote this track with Heavy Metal icon Ozzy Osbourne and musician/producer Danny Saber, whose former bands include Black Grape and Agent Provocateur. Ozzy also played the harmonica, and Saber handled all the guitar parts, including the Beatlesque bass line. He also played keyboards on the track and co-produced the album with Greg Hampton.
  • Along Came a Spider is a concept album that tells the story of a sophisticated serial killer known as Spider, who cocoons his victims in a silk web. In a 2007 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the shock-rock legend discussed how the album's concept came about: "I hadn't written a concept for about four albums and, all of a sudden, it started taking off, this personality," he said. "I started realizing that this guy Spider was a serial killer, but very slick and elegant."
  • The lyrics on this song touch on the album's theme of an urbane, spiderlike serial killer: "How many more will cross my path? How many more must die? I never wonder where they come from. I never wonder, why."
  • Along Came a Spider was Cooper's highest-charting album since Hey Stoopid in 1991. It climbed to #53 on the US Billboard 200 album charts and peaked at #31 on the UK album charts. The collection also performed well in other parts of the world, breaking the Top 40 in several countries. Slash makes a guest appearance on the album, contributing some blistering solos on the track "Vengeance is Mine."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

David Sancious

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

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.