Living A Lie

Album: Charmer (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • Mann co-wrote this song with her long-term collaborator and bassist Paul Bryan for a musical. The tune features a guest appearance by The Shins frontman James Mercer, who duets with Mann. She told Mojo magazine the song came about after West Wing/The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin asked her to write the music for an idea he'd had. "So just for fun Paul Bryan and I wrote this character confrontation between this man and this… crazy girl," she explained. "I got in contact with James - who's amazing and awesome - and we were surprised for him to sing on it. It's not the normal duet subject matter of 'I love you! You're wonderful!' It's two people literally ripping each other to shreds. It really makes me laugh."

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