Nana

Album: I Like It When You Sleep... (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Matty Healy sings on this fragile and poignant track about the death of his maternal grandma, Annie, reminiscing on their times together. He wishes she could just walk into the room again, so that he could tell his nana about all the events that have happened since she passed away.
  • Like the other songs on I Like It When You Sleep, this was mainly written by Healy and drummer George Daniel. Healy said: "The vocabulary that George and I share is unspoken, it's like shorthand. There is a bit in 'Nana' where it all stops, and I remember George saying, 'Let's just put a memory in there; let's just have it open up and your vocal can become distant and you can put a memory in there' and I was like: 'F---ing hell.'"
  • Matty Healy's mother is actress and TV presenter Denise Welch. She talked about the song during the Tracks Of My Years segment of Ken Bruce's BBC Radio 2 show. Welch explained that Matty was her mum's first grandchild and they had a very close bond.

    "He was devastated when she died," she said. "He has a tattoo - I don't like tattoos, but I'll allow that one - on his chest that says 'Annie'. He wrote this song called 'Nana' about losing her."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

Yacht Rock!

Yacht Rock!Song Writing

A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Justin Hayward of The Moody BluesSongwriter Interviews

Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.