King City

Album: Where The Heaven Are We (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the debut single released by the Birmingham, England indie-rock band Swim Deep. "I wanna be everything that I'm not," declares frontman Austin Williams. "I wanna be rich. I want to show off."
  • This indie-rockstar fantasy is a paean to Jenny Lee Lindberg, who is the bassist of Los Angeles-based female quartet Warpaint. Williams told Brum Notes Magazine: "The whole Jenny Lee Lindberg reference isn't personal, it's just a nod to that kind of teenage fantasy. I'm not at all anti-romance – I love romance and anything to do with happiness."

    Warpaint's PR responded: "She feels very happy that they want her so much to be their girlfriend. Good luck chaps, swim onwards and upwards!"
  • The song title refers to a city in Monterey County, California. Williams explained to Brum Notes Magazine: "When we started out, we used to look on Wikipedia for places in California and name our songs after them – Orange County, Santa Maria, Isla Vista. When I wrote it, I just wanted to get out, to live a bit more and experience happier things."
  • Swim Deep released a new version of "King City" with Jenny Lee Lindberg - the subject of the song - to mark the 10th anniversary of their Where The Heaven Are We album. "I had such a lovely time spinning this song into darker territories," said Lindberg. "I have always been so honored they chose me to sing about, still kind of shocking."

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