One Hundred Sleepless Nights

Album: Collide With the Sky (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vic Fuentes writes most Pierce the Veil songs by taking raw personal experience and transforming it into poetic, indirect lyrics. Even though they're drawn from his life, the finished song is often left with an ambiguous, universal feel. This is partly intentional, as Vic admits that he will censor and rewrite lyrics if they deal too explicitly with a real person. This was the case with "One Hundred Sleepless Nights", which is based on Vic's on-again, off-again relationship with a woman over the course of several years. As the two were finally reconciling and moving toward something that felt permanent, she got pregnant with another man's child and moved away. The song describes the night that Vic found this out.

    The song, despite being rewritten to avoid directly referencing the woman involved, is lyrically straightforward for Vic. From start to finish, it simply describes the woman showing up and telling Vic she's having another man's child. Vic's characteristic poetic stylings, however, manage to show up between verses, as he imaginatively describes the savage emotions provoked by the experience. Vic says that this is the most personal song for him on the album.
  • "One Hundred Sleepless Nights" appears on the Pierce the Veil's 2012 album, Collide With the Sky. The band extended their songwriting process for this album, taking over a year before they were ready to record. Part of the album was written during a summer-long stay in a European cabin. Band members said the solitude helped them focus on writing the best songs they were capable of.
  • Vic Fuentes usually records his vocals with the rest of the band in the studio. For this album, however, he recorded alone with a handheld mic. This allowed him to run, jump, and crawl - much like a live performance - and sing entirely uninhibited, all to make his performance more emotive.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Scott Stapp

Scott StappSongwriter Interviews

The Creed lead singer reveals the "ego and self-fulfillment" he now sees in one of the band's biggest hits.

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.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

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.