Balloons

Album: Antidotes (2007)
Charted: 39
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Guitarist and vocalist Yannis Philippakis explained to The Sun December 13, 2007 that he was concerned tracks such as this one would be deemed too commercial: "Growing up in Oxford, we found the music scene there a bit poncey and we wanted to react a bit. But we all have a thing about becoming commercially successful. We grew up so against it and have never had any grand designs. Even when we started writing songs for our album, like 'Balloons,' we were ashamed of the hooks in case it made the song too commercial or mainstream."
  • In the same Sun interview, Philippakis explained the band's name: "We were christened Foals by a friend as he said we are like a group of horses - we smell, we are young and are quite feral, running around and beating each other up a lot."

Comments: 1

  • Corey from Greenfield, InGreat song love it a lot!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.