Crying Shame

Album: In Between Dreams (2005)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Johnson said of this song: "I had a few of the lines for it here and there. But what really inspired me to write the rest of it was an interview with Kurt Vonnegut I read where he was asked if he felt that the leaders of today - cultural, political, and artistic - were being responsible to their society. And he had this line that I thought was great where he said, 'Forget about society. What about humanity in general?' And so that was the idea for the song. The first line is, 'By now we should know how to communicate instead of coming to blows.' It just seems that in this day and age with email and telephones, it's crazy how we still have wars. It seems that everything should be able to be worked out through a conversation by now, if there's just a little bit of compassion on every side."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

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.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

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.