No One's Sleeping

Album: Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "No One's Sleeping" pertains to be about the murder in the UK of Labour MP Jo Cox. The politician was killed by Thomas Mair, a mentally ill man associated with far-right organizations. Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox told Uncut:

    "I think it's important for the English to realize they don't live on a cultural island and that the death of Jo Cox had a profound human impact on me as if it happened in my own country. It's a representative of the ills of our culture. It's representative of that mania, of nationalism. It's madness that this person died so violently, a person with a family, with friendships and scent memories and a whole catalogue of first dates and phone calls and favorite books and songs. I don't have to sit there and politicize how I feel about Brexit - this has nothing to do with Brexit - it's how I feel about the irrational taking over and destroying life."
  • Bradford admits the song's themes are violent and nihilistic. He explained to Consequence of Sound: "We've reached a sort of very dismal nadir. A lot of times that leads to some kind of revolution and renaissance, but I don't know. It's not my job to be pleasant, you know? So I have no problem saying that there's not really a bright side."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Which Songs are About Drugs?

Which Songs are About Drugs?Fact or Fiction

"25 or 6 to 4" to "Semi-Charmed Life" - see if you can spot the songs that are really about drugs.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!