Cold Dark World

Album: Weezer (The Red Album) (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The ominous music doesn't match the upbeat lyrics on this song, and lead singer Rivers Cuomo explained why to Entertainment Weekly. According to Cuomo, the lyrics were inspired by the Bow Wow song "Let Me Hold You." Says Cuomo: "It was lyrically a light, loving song about devotion. Then my bandmates brought this dark music to me. We just thought, 'Let's cram 'em together!' It became a really disturbing jam."
  • Bassist Scott Shriner told Buzznet that he co-wrote this song with frontman Rivers Cuomo. He added: "I wrote this kind of creepy music, and Rivers wrote these kind of happy, positive lyrics, but when you put it together, it made a super-creepy song which I'm really proud of."
  • Shriner sings the verses on this track and Cuomo the choruses.
  • Cuomo explained to Scott Simon on NBR's Weekend Edition how this collaboration with Scott Shriner yielded unexpected results: Said Cuomo: "I've written most of the songs for Weezer, and I almost never write in a minor key. But Scott is a very minor-key person, so this is a new sound for Weezer. I had been thinking of doing this lyric about love and devotion in a very traditional lyric type of way. But when I combined it with his very dark music, my lyric took on a very sinister tone that I never intended, but we all thought was interesting."

Comments: 2

  • Rocky from Tulsa, Ok"Cold Dark World" is from Weezer's Red Album. This song is dark & ominous sounding, but the lyrics are light. Sounds like a Slavic dirge, but it works! The more I hear it, the more I love it. Plus, I think there are sounds of crows or ravens in the background that make this a bizarre & MACABRE delight. Perhaps they're RAVENS. It was co-written by Rivers Cuomo & Scott Shriner both of Weezer. Man, this song works. You just cannot ignore it on The Red Album. There are a lot of gems on the album but this song stands out because of the contrasts in sound and lyrics. And those ravens......oh those ravens! I'm gonna play this at my next Halloween Party! LOL.
  • Danny from Place, MaInteresting song. It would be cool if Weezer members other than Rivers got to sing lead vocals more.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?

Fire On The Stage

Fire On The StageSong Writing

When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

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.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."