Saturday Come Slow

Album: Heligoland (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This lament features the vocals of Blur frontman Damon Albarn. Massive Attack band leader Robert "3D" Del Naja explained to the NME that he drafted in Albarn at the beginning of 2009 to work on two songs, but the Blur singer was initially wary of the band's famously drawn-out methods. "He [Albarn] was like, 'I want to work with you, but I'm not getting sucked into some nine-year-long Bristol dope-haze'," he said. 3D added: "[Albarn] said] 'We'll work 10 to six, at my studio, for five days and that'll be it'. The irony was that it was him who ended up instigating all the bad behaviour!"
  • 3D told The Daily Telegraph how Albarn's contributions energized the duo: "It changed everything up," he said. "It was a different energy and a different environment. We started to strip everything back and build it back up again. That feels like the start of what the album is now."
  • Portishead's Adrian Utley plays guitar on this track.
  • 3D told The Independent February 12, 2010: "Damon wrote this about Bristol and the sort of limestone caves of the south-west land. 'One sound that the believers understand': you know, it's definitely about Bristol and Damon interpreting our relationship with our own land. It's almost, like, you know, frontiers and medieval times, when the land was divided into counties, this being the county of Bristol and his view of it. And also I think his experience of passing through it and of places like Glastonbury or Devon."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.