Album: Into the Blues (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This blues track is from the perspective of a boy who likes a girl from the wrong side of town, "the part where folks live on welfare, the part where you find needles on the ground."

    "That was someone I know," Armatrading said of the narrator. She explained the story to Daniel Rachel, author of The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters: "He was not rich, but from good parents, and she was from a poor family. Very different backgrounds, and all his friends were saying, 'Forget her. How are you going to make this work? She's from a council estate, you're in your posh little house, it's not going to work.' That's why you hear all the: you're from a part where 'folks live on welfare.'"
  • With Into the Blues, Armatrading was the first female UK artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Blues chart. The album was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, making her the first female UK artist to ever be nominated in that category.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lecrae

LecraeSongwriter Interviews

The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.