The Rifle

Album: The Pirate's Gospel (2004)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was inspired by a dream in which all Alela Diane's anxieties came together. She explained to The Sunday Times January 18, 2009: "I woke up at 5am, scrawled down the words and fell back to sleep. When I woke up, all those lyrics were there, and it was about the house I grew up in, straight out of a memory. We had this rifle hanging above the French doors - a great-grandperson's thing that didn't work any more - next to some antlers that my mom got at a thrift store or something."
  • The Pirate's Gospel album was originally self-released by Alela Diane in 2004. Two years later after amassing devotees on the internet, it was re-issued in revised form by Holocene Music. The following year, the employees of the Rough Trade record store chain named it their album of the year.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he Inspired

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he InspiredSong Writing

Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Evolution Of The Prince Symbol

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.