Emergency (911)

Album: Battlefield (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Jordin dials 911, as she's been stood up for a date and she's dying of "dance deprivation, emotional starvation." Sparks co-wrote the song with Toby Gad ("If I Were a Boy") and Lindy Robbins ("What's Left of Me"). The trio also penned "Faith" on the same album.
  • The first known experiment with a national emergency telephone number occurred in the UK in 1937, using the number 999. At first the buzzer which alerted switchboard operators to an emergency call was so loud that a number of girl operators fainted when they heard it. This problem was resolved by inserting a tennis ball in the mouth of the buzzer, which succeeded in reducing the noise to a more tolerable level. The 911 emergency number was introduced in the United States in 1968.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?