Vanity Kills

Album: My Way (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This sermon on the pitfalls of fame was originally written by Brown and his songwriting partner Dave McCracken for Kanye West's 2008 album, 808's And Heartbreak. Brown explained: "Dave was asked to write a song for Kanye West. Amanda Ghost wrote the melody, Dave wrote the music and they wanted me to write some lyrics. It had to be a sort of autobiographical song for Kanye. So we had a few meetings and Amanda told me about Kanye because she knew him. So she texted him and told him I would do the lyrics and he was delighted." However, the track missed the deadline for inclusion on the album and instead Brown chose to keep it for himself.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Edwin McCain

Edwin McCainSongwriter Interviews

"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."

Scott Stapp

Scott StappSongwriter Interviews

The Creed lead singer reveals the "ego and self-fulfillment" he now sees in one of the band's biggest hits.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.