Drag You Around

Album: Ghosts of Download (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • This was written by Matt Barus, the frontman of the Christchurch band The Dukes, who supported Blondie on a 2010 New Zealand tour. Blondie guitarist Chris Stein had asked Barus if he penned songs for other artists. Barus responded that he didn't, but he'd have a go. The New Zealander described the writing process to Stuff.co.nz as: "On the last night of the tour at The Mudhouse Winery in Waipara, we were in the middle of our set and I turned towards the sound desk and Chris and Debbie were there offstage watching our show. When we came off stage Chris came up to me and said 'we really like your songs, do you write for other people. I said, 'I haven't really'. And he asked me if I'd be keen to write some music for their next album. I just assumed it was a really nice thing to say at the end of a tour because people really don't know what else to say."

    "It took me a while and a few conversations with the people who look after my career to actually think he might have been serious so I started listening to their classic album Parallel Lines and thought about the kind of things Debbie might sing about and came up with Drag You Around," Barus continued. "It's me imagining the kind of relationship Debbie would be in. She would kick arse and be dragging whoever it was around. That's the image I wanted anyway."

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