Pamphlets

Album: Bright Green Field (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The British post-punk band Squid formed in Brighton, England in 2017. This eight-minute epic is the closing track of their debut album, Bright Green Field.
  • This is the second-oldest track on Bright Green Field. It originated when some of the band were staying in the Chippenham house belonging to the parents of drummer/singer Ollie Judge one summer in the late 2010s. They wrote this song on a whiteboard, kick-starting a method of writing music they continue to use. "We draw stuff up, try and keep it visual," guitarist Louis Borlase told Apple Music. "It also makes us feel quite efficient."
  • "Pamphlets" became an important part of Squid's sets; the band often closes a gig with it because of its long blowout ending.
  • Lyrically, this is a satirical poke at right-wing politics. Judge explained it's about someone getting influenced by the extremist nationalistic propaganda posted through their letterbox. "It imagines a person with that as their only source of news being taken over by these pamphlets," he said.
  • German illustrator and visual artist Raman Djafari created and directed the animated video. He said the clip is "a meditation on the feeling of being unfit, unlovable, not compatible and the manic anxiety and stress that this results in."
  • Squid recorded Bright Green Field over a space of three weeks in producer Dan Carey's COVID-safe London studio during the 2020 fall. Before decamping to Carey's workplace, the five-piece wrote and rehearsed the record in a barn owned by a Chippenham pub owner using equipment borrowed from Foals' guitar tech. Judge told Apple Music that by the time they brought this song back to Chippenham after performing it for a couple of years, "It had changed so much, because it had had so much time to have so many audiences responding to it in different ways. It's very live music."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

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.

Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go's

Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go'sSongwriter Interviews

Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.

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.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.