Our Song

Album: Coexist (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The xx close their sophomore album Coexist with this minimalist ballad in which the trio pay tribute to each other. "And there's no one else. Who knows me. Like you do. What I've done, you've done too," sings guitarist Romy Madley Croft and bassist Oliver Sim. "It's a friendship song," Madley Croft told Spin magazine. "It's the first time we've kind of just written about the love of friendship. Oliver and I felt quite keen to write a song that we felt reflected off each other. It's for Jamie [Smith, DJ-producer] as well. It's the only song where I've ever addressed Oliver and he's addressing me."
  • The xx titled the album Coexist to get across unity and togetherness. Sim explained to 7Digital United Kingdom: "There was talk of calling the album 'Together' but, even though it's such a simple word, for me it's very 'nice' and conjures up quite a twee image. I think we wanted to do something with a darkness to it, that was a bit more honest about how relationships can be."

    He continued: "Romy found the word 'coexist' when doing artwork research. She was looking at the way oil and water make those beautiful rainbows when mixed together and found a line about it: 'Oil and water don't mix, they agree to peacefully coexist.' She's a bit of a romantic and really liked that, and saw a mirror in what we do – in that we're three separate people and we only make this music when we come together. So the word 'coexist' seemed a lot more honest and it felt right."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

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.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?

Billy Gould of Faith No More

Billy Gould of Faith No MoreSongwriter Interviews

Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.