Black Widow

Album: Melophobia (2013)
Play Video

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."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Grateful Dead Characters

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

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.