Ways I Can't Tell

Album: Everything Is My Family (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • Crystal Fighters explained the meaning of this folk-based dance song to NME: "'Ways I Can't Tell' is about a kind of mutual crush that might be about to turn into something else," the band said. "It's about that special time in a relationship where everything seems uncertain but also very exciting, and you mind is going wild thinking about what might be going and what might happen."
  • The band wrote the song during a stay on the Canary Islands. The location's tropical island setting influenced the4 track's vibe. "We just had a ukulele, a charango, a small guitar and a microphone with us and just came up with that tropical-sounding riff and chords on those instruments, writing overlooking the rough Atlantic Ocean on the north side of the island watching the waves beating against the shore," Crystal Fighters said.

    "We finished off the production in Los Angeles and London, turning it into a kind of crazy tropical beat-folk song which builds into a sort of 90s rave rinse-out," they continued. "We thought this style would suit the energy of the lyrics and give people with that kind of unrequited crush the confidence to approach their love and say to hell with it: 'Wanna dance?'"

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