Cradles

Album: Single release only (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • New Jersey native Daniel Maisonneuve is a singer-songwriter and producer who records under the name of Sub Urban. This dark single became his breakthrough hit after being popularized through the video sharing application TikTok.
  • "Cradles" contains a more minimal style of production than most of Sub Urban's songs. He explained to Genius that it originated with him working on his piano on "this jazz idea for a low-fi hip-hop thing." Sub Urban randomly played some chords, which he thought sounded "sexy" and a potential hit. So he went up to his room and started writing the song.
  • Lyrically, the song is a dystopian nursery rhyme where 19-year-old Sub Urban compares childhood to adulthood. He explained: "I feel like nobody ever really grows out of the whiny sort of tantrum-throwing person that they were as a kid. And you see it a lot on the internet these days. It's just without a filter, everyone's just an a--hole. And I thought it would be good to just write a song about how I developed as a person."

    Sub Urban added that he went with the flow and considers himself "just as much of a baby as anybody else."
  • The song topped Billboard's Alternative Songs chart in March 2020.

Comments: 24

  • NahIt makes me feel physcho. Like an evil mastermind with an innocent face, almost like a pschopath
  • Jojo The Cat from HiWhat the hell even is cradles? My pet hooman says it is weird and messed up. I may be a cat but I agree. The beat, awesome. The lyrics, messed up. Also, I just wanted to point out, CATS ARE BETTER THAN DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Meow. Have a wonderful day.
  • Shi-chanThis song is sooo perfect. I'd listen to this song while reading some murder cases like The hello kitty murder case or The Murder of Junko Furuta!
  • MarshallLook, this song gives off I'm-going-to-die-really-painfully-and-slowly vibes, commit suicide vibes and a luluby made by a mother who hates her child. 100 out of 10, amazing.
  • (: Kids Screaming from Ink And BleachI live inside my own world of make-believe

    Kids screaming in their cradles, profanities

    I see the world through eyes covered in ink and bleach

    Cross out the ones who heard my cries and watched me weep



    I love everything

    Fire's spreading all around my room

    My world's so bright

    It's hard to breathe but that's alright

    Hush



    Shh



    Tape my eyes open to force reality (oh, no no)
  • ScratchSeems like something you would sing in your head while being publicly executed right before your last breath.
  • Heartbeat from Inside The ClosetThis song sounds like a twisted lullaby that would be in a nightmare, and gives off the same sick vibes as a serial killer tucking you into bed while holding a bloody knife. Like, happy, but if just looked a little closer or listened a little harder you would see the world exactly how it is; a twisted nightmare lurking in the back of your mind.
  • Catmeow465 from MalvernThis song is so good and gives me a strange sinking feeling as it progresses. It's honestly, in my opinion, perfect!
  • Someone from SomewhereMy life in a nutshell
  • Random Guy from Pandorai felt like he was suffering from torture but doesnt care because life is a nightmare
  • The Sister In Bed With John from My BedThis song makes me feel like im inside of a jeep in the sahara desert and is about to be dunked in a pool full of hippopotamuses while eating KFC
  • Infernalheir from Coruscant's Mental AsylumI don't think I can begin to express how much this song makes me want to snap my neck, in the best way possible.
  • A_dimwit_was_here from New YorkI_CAN_RELATE_TO_THE_SONG_.
  • John from Yo Sisters BedThis song feels like im trapped in a freezer
  • Ella from The Worldi feel like this song is also about isolation and the frustration of everything you say bring ignored. it feels a lot like the idea of finally letting loose, killing your inhibitions and the people who are “in your way”. in the music video, he uses a lot of almost dystopian imagery plus a lot of fire and it gives the energy of bring trapped or brainwashed and finally succumbing to the feelings inside. maybe its cos i just finished the book but the song sort of reminds me of fahrenheit 451, especially with the music video. people being careless with the world, numb to everything, so that when people finally do speak out, they do so violently with absurd consequence. love the minimalist vibes, they really add to the isolation-y feel
  • Toy from Yo Mommas HouseI really like this song, it feels like a fever dream
  • Nightshade from Somewhere I Can't Be Foundi really liked tha song, it has a reconforting vibe but in the same time, it's slightly creepy
  • Concerned Grandma from ArizonaAnyone here watch Cradles music video? Your opinion on it please...
  • Concerned Grandma from ArizonaIs this song for 5-6 year olds? My daughter plays it for her son.
  • Somemusicenjoyer from BedroomCradles has a very unique sound to it, it is quite interesting. Great song
  • Tona from Sonoma CaWell done lyrics! Absolutely beautiful song!
  • HumanI think he chose it because adults act like they are still in cradles cuz of how stupid they are, Alex.
  • BrandiThat video is kinda trippy.
  • AlexWhy did he choose that for the title
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.