Album: Long Live The Duke & The King (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song describes a young American soldier in a Baghdad firefight thinking about dancing to the Jackson 5 with his girl back home. The moment of nostalgic euphoria gives him something to live for in the general carnage of Iraq.

    "It breaks my heart that I live in a land that sent its boys to fight for a rich oil man's greed," the band's Simone Felice told Uncut in 2010. "Friends of mine came back as cold - bloodied murderers. Others I know had their heads or their legs or their arms blown off. So that song, it's a 'Why don't you shake your ass instead of shaking a gun' kind of song about how wild the world out there is."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

Pete Anderson

Pete AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top Proverb

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top ProverbSong Writing

How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.