Album: Walls (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by hit songwriting duo Alan and Marilyn Bergman ("The Way We Were") and pop songwriter/producer Walter Afanasieff ("All I Want For Christmas Is You"), this is the title track to Barbra Streisand's 2018 album Walls, which grew out of her disgust with Donald Trump's presidency.

    The song was inspired by his demands for a wall to be built at the Mexican border, but evolved into a reflection about the figurative walls people build to protect themselves that end up as barriers to meaningful relationships.

    Streisand elaborated in a 2018 interview with Time magazine: "Well, we have a president who wants to build walls, and that got me thinking - walls can be structural, and walls can be emotional, walls between people. So I asked my dear friends Marilyn and Alan Bergman to write a song for this album, and it came out as 'Walls,' which says we would have that better day if all those walls came tumbling down. I hope we find a way to tear down walls and build more bridges instead."
  • The album, bolstered by the lead single, "Don't Lie To Me," debuted at #12 in the US but was one of the rare entries in her catalog to not be certified Gold or Platinum by the RIAA.
  • Walls was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards but lost to Look Now by Elvis Costello & The Imposters.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Motley Crue

Motley CrueFact or Fiction

Was Dr. Feelgood a dentist? Did the "Crüecifixion" really happen?

Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

Lajon Witherspoon of SevendustSongwriter Interviews

The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

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