Sky Musings

Album: Visions of a Life (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This stratospheric confessional finds an increasingly manic Ellie Rowsell singing about a panic attack at 40,000 feet, in which she's, "On top of the world, 23 years old and you're acting like it's over."

    The song, Roswell explained to NME, "Is about how people have deeper thoughts and more tears to shed on long-haul flights – apparently it's to do with being neither here nor there and your life being totally in the hands of someone else."

    So every time I'd go on a long flight and watch a romcom with a glass of wine, I'd find myself having one of these mini meltdowns," she added. "It's quite a dark song, but it must've been quite funny for anyone who actually saw me sobbing at Miss Congeniality."
  • Bassist Theo Ellis recalled the story of the song during a Consequence of Sound Track-by-Track interview:

    "'Sky Musings" was a demo that had been floating around for a while. It took a few different guises before ending up where it is now. We had played it in a completely live full band arrangement during preproduction but it felt wrong. We ended up in true Wolf Alice fashion going back to the demo's far more programmed arrangement; while sourcing the drum sound we were referencing Yeezus era drum sounds and Kraftwerk precision, we wanted the music to emulate the relentless nature of the encroaching panic that Ellie is describing.

    The track itself begins to open up from the concentrated claustrophobia as we added more Moog synths and mellotron sounds it being to grow into a mildly more organic sonic template. Joff's guitar airplane disintegration sound at the beginning was merely the cherry on top."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Weezer

WeezerFact or Fiction

Did Rivers Cuomo grow up on a commune? Why did they name their albums after colors? See how well you know your Weezer in this Fact or Fiction.

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

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.

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.