Nameless, Faceless

Album: Tell Me How You Really Feel (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Nameless, Faceless" finds Courtney Barnett singing about misogyny and internet trolls.

    He said "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup
    And spit out better words than you"
    But you didn't


    The words were inspired by a comment that a troll had made about Barnett's music. Rather than taking offense, the singer found it so amusing she stuck it into this song adding the withering response.

    Must be lonely
    Being angry
    Feeling over-looked
    You sit alone at home in the darkness
    With all the pent-up rage that you harness
    I'm real sorry
    'Bout whatever happened to you
  • Barnett loosely quotes in the hook Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood's line, "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them."

    I want to take a walk in the park at night
    Men are afraid that women will laugh at them
    I want to walk in the park at night
    Women are afraid that men will kill them


    Barnett said: "I actually lifted it from an article, not knowing it was her quote. I didn't know who she was until I saw The Handmaid's Tale, and I didn't make the connection until I was getting the album credits together. But I'd seen it a couple times in things I was reading, and I remember being like, 'That is the strongest point.' Because it's so dumbed-down, it's kind of funny - the way it flips is funny - even though it's not a funny thing at all."
  • Barnett told Pitchfork: "It was a hard song to fit together, because the music was this combination of three songs I was working on, and the lyrics came later. Instrumentally it's so silly, it's got such a poppy verse."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.