Polaroid

Album: Smoke And Mirrors (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song with a music-box melody was the last track Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds composed for Smoke + Mirrors. It finds him singing about how he's been going too fast all his life like a freight train. "I wrote that song on Halloween night, when I went trick-or-treating with my little girl, and I had this melody that came into my head," Reynolds told The Illinois Entertainer. "And I was singing it to my little girl, and we'd just sing it back and forth because she loves music."

    "And I was in this place right then, when I was just starting therapy, and that's how I felt – my whole life, I haven't even had a minute to stop. I've just been like a freight train, just blazing through things," he added. "And I've gotten to this point now where I just can't do it anymore. I had to change something, because mentally, I'm just falling apart – I know everything about what Imagine Dragons is, but I have no idea who the hell I am. So that's kind of what that song is."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

Gary LeVox

Gary LeVoxSongwriter Interviews

On "Life Is A Highway," his burgeoning solo career, and the Rascal Flatts song he most connects with.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.