Old Pine

Album: Every Kingdom (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Devon native Ben Howard was raised by musical parents who exposed him at a young age to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists such as Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and John Martyn. Howard began writing his own songs and after a short spell studying journalism, he decided at the age of 21 to become a full time musician. After building up a reputation with his gigs across the UK, Howard was eventually asked to sign to Island Records. His first album, Every Kingdom, was released on October 3, 2011 and debuted at #7 on the UK album chart.
  • This was Howard's debut single, which was inspired by nearly getting killed by a falling pine tree during a surf trip when he was 16. He recalled to The Sun: "It was a crazy time with some truly amazing memories. I had the guitar riff in my head for a while and eventually the song formed around it pretty naturally from there."
  • The song's music video was filmed on the west coast of Ireland by renowned surfing cinematographer Mickey Smith, who is a close friend of Howard's.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.