Mouth Of The King

Album: King's Mouth (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • King's Mouth is a concept album about a giant king whose head absorbs the universe. This song is a gentle acoustic rumination on mortality, rebirth and the vastness of the universe.
  • Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne's lyrics are fantastical, and the storyline running through the record makes little literal sense. Speaking with Uncut magazine, he compared his "Mouth Of The King" tale to fantasy movies such as Star Wars.

    "I don't know where these people live. I don't know what dimension their little village is in, but I think you just have to go ahead and accept it," Coyne said. "Like Star Wars, it just puts you in there, you don't really need to answer too many questions. Like, why is Chewbacca one of these characters with these humans in space?"
  • The Clash guitarist Mick Jones provides narration in his cockney tones on several tracks. Wayne Coyne told Uncut: "We all absolutely love him, and when I started to consider that it wasn't going to be one of the Flaming Lips doing this narration, I can't quite explain why but Mick was the only person I had in my mind."

    It was fellow punk legend Don Letts who got Jones on board. Coyne recalled: "I spoke to Don about it and he said, 'Mick won't want to do it but I'll get him to do it.' Ha!"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.