Lonely

Album: Go to School (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from Go to School, a concept album that tells the story of Shane, a chimpanzee raised as a human boy who goes to school.

    This raw, personal song was written by the band's Michael D'Addario when he was 15 about being lonely at school. As it was written from the perspective of a teenager he thought it would be cool to include it on the record because it was so genuine. Michael explained to Billboard:

    "It's got a line about waiting outside of school for your parents, and then the other people talking about hanging out, but they don't mention, 'Why don't you come?' And that's silly, but I think I wrote that a couple years ago when I was 15.

    So, when we were recording it this year, I decided, 'Let's just do it exactly the way I wrote it then.' It was really genuine and it's rare for things to be produced on this scale, but have a lyric that came from a real 15-year-old heart. It's even more interesting than just being a guy who writes musicals and putting yourself in the 15-year-old's shoes. Things like that happened, a lot of natural things like that. It was a natural process."
  • Q magazine asked Brian D'Addario why they chose to make a monkey the lead character of their concept album. He replied: "We were thinking about this totally innocent, very pure character who came from a different place to all the other characters in the story, who came from a more cynical place. We thought, 'Oh, maybe this could explain why he's unlike the rest of them, why he's more in tune with his soul, because he hasn't been corrupted."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-Nighters

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-NightersSong Writing

These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Motley Crue

Motley CrueFact or Fiction

Was Dr. Feelgood a dentist? Did the "Crüecifixion" really happen?

Randy Houser

Randy HouserSongwriter Interviews

The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.