Black Widow

Album: Melophobia (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This dance party tune finds Matt Shultz singing about a wicked girl. The black widow is a venomous American spider, which is black with red markings. The way the female black widow spiders lure males and mates them before eating them is a frequently used lyrical metaphor for women who are dishonest about their intentions. Here are some other examples:

    "Die for Me Only (Black Widow)" by Lita Ford: "Plays with a vengeance. Controls our very soul. To weave you in my web of love. And never let you go."

    "Black Widow" by Bruce Dickinson. "Black Widow And here, my prize, the Black Widow: Isn't she lovely? And so deadly. Her kiss is fifteen times more poisonous than the rattlesnake."

    "Werewolf Women of the SS" by Rob Zombie: "They are the black widows, baby. Off the streets of Berlin. Pure wolf is the mission. She-Devils of sin. They're in control now. Strasser you are."

    "There Goes" by Alan Jackson: "Like some big black widow spider. You know just how to catch your prey. I'm actin' like it doesn't matter. And you sneak up from behind and whisper my name."

    "Gold Dust Woman" by Fleetwood Mac: "Pale shadow of a woman. Black widow. Pale shadow. She's a dragon. Gold dust woman."
  • Matt Shultz and his guitarist brother Brad disagreed about the use of horns on this song. Brad told MusicRadar.com: "I have a thing about brass, so I've wanted to have horns for a while. Matt is on the other side of that; he was never a big horn fan at all. We definitely have different opinions on that subject. This was one of the songs that led to our big argument. He just didn't share the vision I had for the horns. When we did it and it worked out, it turned out to be a really pleasant surprise."

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