Album: Melophobia (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vocalist Matt Shultz explained the song's meaning to MusicRadar.com: "I wanted to write about something that you struggle with and battle to get away from, but I wanted to make it sound like it's about a relationship, even though it's not," he said. "It's about these vices that plague us. In the chorus, it says, 'I lost my halo' – I was thinking about that point in life where you feel you're innocent… I don't even know if you recognize it as innocent – you just don't see your shortcomings. And then you fall on your face in a big way, and you realize that you look foolish."

    "There have been some things that I've done in the past couple of years that I'm not proud of at all," Shultz continued. "The song is about those things that continuously come back to haunt you."
  • Guitarist Lincoln Parish told Loudwire the story of the song: "We were on tour with The Black Keys," he recalled. "Me and Jared were jamming at soundcheck one day and I came up with the riff. Then me and Matt started working on it a little bit, that's a song too, kind of kept that idea around. That's all it was for the longest time, just an idea. I just had this one riff and then some chords, put it to a chorus and ended up changing all the – it was just one of those things that had a catchy melody, and the riff then we just kept the idea around. Then once we all got together, that's when it really became what it is."

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.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

David Paich of Toto

David Paich of TotoSongwriter Interviews

Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.