Go Home

Album: Big Time (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Go Home" details Angel Olsen's feelings of isolation during the COVID lockdown. "I wanna go home," she wails impassionately. "Go back to small things."

    For Olsen, home is being with those people she's close to. "The small things are the people that matter, conversation that matters to me," she explained to Uncut magazine. "During the pandemic I started to realize how much I hated touring, not because I didn't like playing music, just because I missed feeling known. You have to be around to be known. The band works with you, for you. The fans see your art when they look at you. I miss my friends a lot. I miss not talking about music. I miss the other things I do, Even the mundane tasks. I love making music and sharing it, but it isn't all I love."
  • Olsen recorded "Go Home" for Big Time. She wrote the album while publicly coming out as queer and experiencing her first gay love and heartbreak.

    Weeks after Olsen came out, her mother and father both passed away in quick succession. The singer-songwriter had already booked recording time with producer Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Conor Oberst) in his Topanga Canyon studio in Southern California and didn't want to cancel. Three weeks after her mother's funeral, she started laying down the record, using her time there to heal and cleanse.
  • Olsen and Wilson both played the guitar on the track. Wilson also contributed drums, percussion, and harmonium. The other musicians are:

    Emily Elhaj: bass
    Dan Higgins: flute, baritone saxophone
    Drew Erickson: piano, harpsichord
    Steve Holtman: trombone
    Wayne Bergeron: trumpet
    Jacob Braun: cello
    Zach Dellinger: viola
    Andrew Bulbrook and Wynton Grant: violin

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

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.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.