Weep Themselves To Sleep

Album: Blunderbuss (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Jack White said in NME magazine: "I'm jealous of how rap and hip-hop lyrics can get away with a lot more metaphors than the world I come from is allowed to get away with. The character in this song is bragging, but it's also self-depreciating at the same time."
  • The song features some stand out piano playing by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brooke Waggoner. Brooke won the Nashville Music Award for "NBN Emerging Artist" of the year in the fall of 2009 and her songs have been featured in TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Ghost Whisperer.
  • The song finds White virtually rapping the lyrics. He told UK newspaper The Sun: "If I'd sat down and said I wanted the delivery of a Hip-Hop artist, I might not have succeeded. It just came out subconsciously. The White Stripes song 'Icky Thump' — 'Icky thump with a lump' — also sounds very much like a rap."
  • White explained the song's meaning to The Sun: "I was thinking about Jay-Z and Kanye West and the freedom of expression they have that I don't have," he said. "It's about a character singing, (breaks into a rap) 'No one can blow the shows or throw the bones that break your nose like I can'. I was trying to make that statement braggadocious and self-effacing at the same time."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

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

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Grunge Bands Quiz

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.