Don't Wanna Fight by Alabama Shakes

Album: Sound & Color (2015)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard penned this funky soul cut about global warfare. She told The Observer that it was inspired by "people killing each other because of ridiculous assumptions. Are you a Shiite? Are you a Jew?"
"Don't Wanna Fight" was the first single from Sound & Color, the second Alabama Shakes album. They performed the song live for the first time on the February 28, 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live.

The group emerged in February 2012 with their debut single, "Hold On," which took over a year to reach the Hot 100. Sound & Color kept their momentum going, but after their 2017 tour they got burned out and took a hiatus. Brittany Howard launched a solo career, and the band returned in 2025 with new music and a tour.
The song's performance video was filmed at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles by director and rock photographer Danny Clinch, who is known for capturing the live shows of Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam. Capitol Studios opened in 1956, and has hosted such artists as Frank Sinatra and the Beastie Boys over the years.
The song was also inspired by the Alabama Shakes members' difficult early days when they were trying to balance their commitments to the band and their day jobs. Brittany Howard explained to UK newspaper The Independent that it's about, "when you're working to get ahead but you can't because every time you try, someone gonna take it from you. Like when I used to work and I was going to school and paying my utility bills and you end up with not enough at the end of the day but you go to work anyway and there's still not enough and lots of people live that way."
"Don't Wanna Fight" won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the 2016 ceremony, where the band performed the song. Sound & Color also won for Best Alternative Music Album.

These were the first Grammy wins for Alabama Shakes, which earned a Best New Artist nomination three years earlier but lost to Fun. In 2018 they won their fourth Grammy, taking Best American Roots Performance for "Killer Diller Blues," their contribution to the movie The American Epic Sessions.
According to Brittany Howard, the song is often misinterpreted to be about a relationship, but it's really about collectives of world citizens and their conflicts.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Live ForeverOasis

The Oasis song "Live Forever" was written in response to "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" by Nirvana. "Kids don't need to hear that nonsense," said Noel Gallagher.

Put Your Records OnCorinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae's 2006 hit "Put Your Records On" borrows the opening line ("Three little birds sat on my window") from the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds." Both songs have the same message: Don't worry, because every little thing's going to be alright.

When I'm 64The Beatles

In The Beatles' "When I'm 64," Paul McCartney asks a woman if she'll still be there for him when he's 64. In 2006, he got his answer when shortly before his 64th birthday, he and Heather Mills separated.

Try AgainAaliyah

Until December 5, 1998, a song had to be issued as a single to make the Hot 100. Aaliyah's "Try Again" was the first tune to top the chart based on airplay alone, without any sales figures being included.

I Remember EverythingZach Bryan

Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves had both gone through divorces when they wrote and recorded the wrenching duet "I Remember Everything." It was the first #1 Hot 100 hit for each of them.

Bad RomanceLady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a big fan of horror movies; listen for the names of these three Alfred Hitchcock films in the lyrics to "Bad Romance": Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window.