Cold Cold Cold

Album: Tell Me I'm Pretty (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Matthew Shultz addressing a feeling of imminent doom, something he's had to deal with his whole life. The Cage the Elephant singer told Billboard magazine: "As far as I can remember, I've had this picture of this sad kind of life that I've lionized in my head over the years. When I was 10, there was this ice storm. I put on my coat, walked into the snow and pretended I was lost. I was so melancholy. I imagined myself turning into an ice sculpture. Then my dad pulled up: 'What are you doing? It's freezing outside. Get in the car.'"
  • Shultz pretty much wrote the song in one sitting. He told HMV.com: "I was just thinking about struggling with this feeling of imminent doom and seasonal depression. I wanted to write a song that was a metaphor for that but that played into the idea of needing help. So it's like throwing my hands up and saying 'That's it, take me to the hospital, someone help me.'"
  • The 1960s-set hallucinatory video was directed by Matt Shultz. It follows a young man's harrowing journey when he enters a psychiatric institution, which is filled with drugs, creepy masks and decapitation. Shultz told Rolling Stone regarding the clip's themes:

    "I think we're all very prone to subscribe to a safe, surface level pursuit of happiness, keeping our adversities out of sight out of mind, in a way. We try to fix ourselves to fit into the social norm, and it is so easy to forget that in one way or another, the broken-hearted are the beautiful ones."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock Photography

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock PhotographySong Writing

One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.