Tiny Demons

Album: Healing (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Not every demon is a giant Lucifer coming for your soul. Some are tiny and more insidious: the ones that live inside of us.

    In a Songfacts interview with Todd Rundgren, he explained: "I was boring deeper and deeper into my own consciousness, and that song was done in one very late-night session, just as almost a thought experiment, re-objectivizing what you see when you look in the mirror. Usually what you see is what you expect to see, and I was trying to re-cast it in a way that it was as if you were looking in the mirror for the very first time and you were seeing yourself for the very first time."
  • This is part of Rundgren's ninth album, Healing, which like his breakthrough, Something/Anything?, he recorded mostly on his own, playing all the instruments himself. This put Rundgren in a solitary, introspective mindset, which is reflected on "Tiny Demons."

    "it's a very gothic, insular song and it's reflective of the kind of period when I was recording Something/Anything?," he told Songfacts.
  • This was used in the Miami Vice episode "Little Prince," which aired in 1984 during the show's first season.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."