Smokin Out The Window

Album: An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021)
Charted: 12 5
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Silk Sonic is a R&B duo comprising Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak. They first met when Paak was the opening act for Mars on the European leg of his 2017 24K Magic World Tour. They got on well, so they decided to see if they could turn their backstage banter into songs. This soulful slow jam was the first tune they wrote together.
  • During that European tour, Mars came up with the phrase "smoking out the window," imagining an anxious man puffing cigarettes as he tries to escape his stressful circumstances. The four words became a recurring in-joke, and when he and Paak got to the studio, it morphed into a hook.
  • Mars and Paak came up with this retro-soul track where the pair outline a promiscuous love interest who is seeing other men. The gold-digging girl is taking advantage of their generous nature and breaking their hearts.

    You got me smokin' out the window
    Singin' how could you do this to me?
    I thought that girl belonged to only me
    But I was wrong, 'cause she belong to everybody


    "Basically the song is just about a man going through it, and you can hear him being emotional," said Mars to Audacy's Julia. "Saying some heinous things, but really he's begging, begging for it back."

    "His pride is hurt, his heart is broken," Anderson added. "You know sometimes when you leave the door open... she might have you smokin' out the window."
  • When the tour ended, the pair's sessions ceased as both artists moved onto other projects. They reconvened in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, after Mars listened back through their files. He told Rolling Stone "it hit the right chord," so he called Paak and asked him to come to the studio. The two had so much fun in that session, they carried on collaborating.

    During lockdown, Mars and Paak's "quarantine passion project" became their An Evening with Silk Sonic album. They released this song as the third single from the record on November 5, 2021.
  • Silk Sonic sang "Smoking Out The Window" live for the first time at the 2021 American Music Awards on November 21, 2021. Clad in coordinating red suits, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak opened the ceremony with their performance.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

Tom Waits Lyrics Quiz

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?