How Sweet The Light

Album: Oui (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "I'm walking away from my suicide," Nash Kato of Urge Overkill sings on "How Sweet The Light," a track from their 2022 album Oui. The song recalls a very dark period when he nearly succumbed to desperation.

    Urge Overkill got a big break in 1994 when their cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" was used in the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction. Unfortunately, they quickly lost their momentum and split up three years later. They regrouped in 2004, but Kato was in really bad shape.

    "I was living in LA and I could not scare up any game," he said in a Songfacts interview. "The money dried up, and I've never harbored any suicidal tendencies, but it got to the point where I was like, 'I don't want to do this,' but it seemed like the most convenient way out of my dilemma.

    I was thinking about things that are worth sticking around for in life, and I thought: pizza, beer, football - but none of them sang that well, so I thought, 'My girlfriend's tits!' That's worth sticking around for.

    It's sort of a life-affirmation tune. But it's from the heart. I was surviving that and I got a song out of it."
  • Kato credits a good friend - a successful actor he doesn't want to name - for helping him get on his feet. "He swooped in and saved my ass," Kato told Songfacts. "I really was left for dead. He swung in with his checkbook and I was able to turn it around. I left LA, but it was an interesting experience. I survived and proceeded to continue with the band."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

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.

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.

Brandi Carlile

Brandi CarlileSongwriter Interviews

As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.

Bass Player Scott Edwards

Bass Player Scott EdwardsSong Writing

Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."

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."

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.