Guiltless

Album: Beautifully Strange (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Halfdown Thomas lead singer Randy Ayers singles this out as a song with special meaning to him. He told us: "'Guiltless' has actually been written three times now. The first time made onto our Momentum CD, which a lot of songs on Beautifully Strange came from. After we had recorded it, we just felt lyrically that the song just didn't stand up. So we looked at it again, changed some things around, played it out a few times, and still weren't happy with it. After that we shelved the song completely for about three years. When we started recording the Beautifully Strange album, we took a look at all the stuff we had ever done and decided to give 'Guiltless' another try. I don't know if it was experience or actually having something to write about, but it just clicked this time. I know Chris Henderson, our producer had a good bit to do with it also, but that how 'Guiltless' became 'Guiltless (Mend your Broken Heart)' and became the first single."
  • Ayers explains the band's songwriting process: "The way we normally write songs is either Wesley or on occasions George will bring up a riff or a hook on guitar. From that point, we kinda come up with a skeleton of a working song. From there, I usually come up with a melody. Then we start working on the actual meat of the song. I'll write lyrics from either stuff that I have been saving, or I'll let the song decide what direction I go in. Once I've figured out what I wanna say with the song, we adjust how it's written to fit."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.