Albatross

Album: What Went Down (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Foals guitarist Jimmy Smith told NME he considers this to be "chordally-speaking," one of the most interesting things the band have ever recorded. He explained: "It goes from major to minor. As my girlfriend's dad always says: major to minor is the key to great songwriting, look at The Beatles. You put a minor note over a major chord, and it ends up as something kind of menacing but really warm as well."

    Vocalist Yannis Philippakis added: "Some music nerd told me it has a 'tierce de picardie' – the end bit doesn't resolve in the way it's supposed to."
  • The albatross is a large oceanic bird, noted for its powerful gliding flight. Samuel Coleridge's poem The Ancient Mariner, tells the tragic story of a sailor who deliberately shoots down one of the great birds. The work was based on the old superstition of sailors that ill luck attended the killing of an albatross at sea. The bird now represents a past mistake that continues to burden or handicap a person - "an albatross around your neck."

    Artists that have recorded songs titled after the winged creature include: Judy Collins, Fleetwood Mac, Public Image Ltd, The Besnard Lakes, Wild Beasts, Big Wreck and AronChupa.
  • Here are a few albatross fun facts from The Encyclopedia of Trivia:

    The Albatross can glide on an air current for several days and are believed they even sleep while in flight. It apparently dozes while cruising at 25 mph.

    They can cover enormous distances, flying as far as 10,000 miles in 33 days, or up to 600 miles in one day.

    Albatrosses feed mainly on squid and fish.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Mac Powell of Third Day

Mac Powell of Third DaySongwriter Interviews

The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.