The Ballad Of Sal Villanueva

Album: Victory Style, Vol. 5 (2002)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a "Best Friends with Benefits" sort of ordeal, but the guy takes the relationship a little more seriously while the girl goes out and screws around. The girl claims, "We're only friends" but the guy is convinced their relationship means more. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Matt - Mechanicsville, VA
  • The band recorded "The Ballad Of Sal Villanueva" after they finished their 2002 debut album, Tell All Your Friends, and included it as a bonus track on the Victory Records vinyl reissue. They named the surf-rock fan favorite after the album's producer. The label tasked Villanueva to helm the project after he launched the post-hardcore band Thursday with their first two albums, including their first Victory release, Full Collapse. While Villanueva did another album with Thursday, he never worked with Taking Back Sunday again. They did one more album with Victory, the Lou Giordano-produced Where You Want To Be (2004), before leaving for Warner Bros.
  • There's no need to feel sorry for Villanueva over being a victim of infidelity because it never happened - at least not when it comes to his namesake song. According to guitarist John Nolan, the lyrics don't have anything to do with the producer; the band just wanted to give him a shout-out.

Comments: 5

  • Cj from Oak Creek, WiOkay, no song titles on their first album had anything to do with the lyrics, so why would this one? They just named it after their friend and producer, but John wrote it about a girl.
  • Angel from Lakewood, NjOn Dec. 17 at the dvd acoustic filming Adam said they won't perform this live because Sal Villanueva was offended and had harsh words to say about it.
  • Toni from Conche, Canadathis song is obviously about a guy who's in the kind of ordeal in which his girlfriend is cheating on him and he acts like he dosen't know what's going on but then catches her in the act; "you're down for selling me out while i play dumb its cool cause' i let you, thought i'd never catch you." then the girl responds with a lame excuse; "you say we're only friends, yeah real good friends i bet."
  • Maurice from Havelock, NcIf that sal guy is the produce then maybe it could be a song that did for him (the Ballad of sal) about an ordeal he had but i do think it is a freinds with benefits thing definitely
  • Dave from Long Island, Nysal villanueva was the producer on the "tell all your friends record" i dont know what that has to do with the song, but just so you know
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