Why You Gotta Kick Me When I'm Down?

Album: Amo (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The writing process for Amo served as therapy for Bring Me the Horizon vocalist Oli Sykes following his very public split with his then-wife Hannah Snowden in 2016. This song finds him talking about his relationship with the band's fans and the hurt caused by them sprouting opinions about his personal life.

    Yeah, I know it's all in good fun, but
    Don't say it's coming from love now
    I see those arms in akimbo
    (They always wanna kick you when you're down)


    Keyboardist Jordan Fish told Kerrang: "It comes from a personal place, from a time when things weren't necessarily going his or our way."
  • Musically, this is the closest that Bring Me the Horizon have come to a grime track. "That came quite late," Fish said. "I made the beat ages ago and we weren't even gonna use it. Then Oli had a meltdown/breakthrough halfway through the writing process and went back to it."
  • The song features Fish's local village's children's choir. He told Kerrang that it reminded him of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall" or Jay-Z's "It's a Hard Knock Life."
  • The band weren't sure if the children's choir was going to work out. Oli Sykes explained to Kerrang: "Jordan went and recorded those at a primary school in his village. It was a bit up in the air at one point, because there's some swearing on the song and it's a Catholic school. But in the end the parents were like, 'No it's cool, we'll let 'em do it.' I think we said we'd make a censored version just for them."
  • This is the Bring Me the Horizon song that Jordan Fish is proudest of writing. He explained to Kerrang, April 3, 2019: "It's one of our most adventurous songs, and I'm really pleased with how it came out. I love the lyrical content, the hook is great and it's got a cool vibe."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The End Of The Rock Era

The End Of The Rock EraSong Writing

There are no more rock stars - the last one died in 1994.

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian OrchestraSongwriter Interviews

Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

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.

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?Fact or Fiction

Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.