The King

Album: Once Upon a Time in the West (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song tells the story of a man returning to his home town in search of an old flame, only to find that her house has been pulled down by builders.
  • Speaking with I Like Music, Hard-Fi drummer Steve Kemp revealed how this song came about: "There's a song on the album called 'The King' which, we'd practically finished the album and he (Richard Archer) was still fiddling around on the guitar with it, singing this song and we didn't have any other stuff. And we started recording it and it grew into this big album finisher. And that was just a couple of ideas on an acoustic guitar and singing. That's how most things start either on a piano or acoustic guitar or whatever."
  • Richard Archer, Hard-Fi's frontman and songwriter, told the Daily Telegraph August 9, 2007 how this song originally surprised him: "I couldn't put my finger on where it came from, and why it moved me so much. It finally dawned on me that the song is about longing for more innocent days, for a time when you didn't have worries, wanting to have that childhood feeling when you think your parents are indestructible."
  • After their coverage of Tim Henman's last professional tennis match in a Davis Cup tie, the BBC played this song as a tribute to the British tennis player.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.