London Thunder

Album: What Went Down (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Foals vocalist Yannis Phillppakis wrote this track about touring and knowing that when he returns home, some things will be different. He told Mojo: "That song, basically, I wrote it at an airport at night and it wasn't very busy and it had that kind of weird, eerie, cold melancholy to it. I was coming back home and I realised that the home that I was coming back to wasn't the home that I left, that something had happened while I'd been away. That song is about being away from home."
  • A music video was shot with a CCTV camera of Foals playing this song live at the Studios La Fabrique where they recorded What Went Down. Studios La Fabrique is located in the same village in the south of France in which Vincent Van Gogh was hospitalized after savaging his own ear.
  • Phillppakis elaborated further on the song's meaning to HMV.com, telling the site it "deals directly with the idea of being absent and always being in departure lounges, the idea of not being able to put roots in anywhere."

    "When I was younger I didn't care so much about where I was, but on the last tour in particular I really felt like I was treading heavier, I wanted to put an anchor down, I wanted to stay somewhere," he added. "That song deals with being away and how when you come home your is never the same. The idea of home and belonging is recurrent in quite a lot of our songs."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.