One For The Road

Album: AM (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from the Arctic Monkeys fifth studio album, AM. The song was debuted on September 2, 2013, during Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show.
  • Frontman Alex Turner described AM's sound to NME as, "like a Dr. Dre beat, but we've given it an Ike Turner bowl-cut and sent it galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster." Turner also cited the music of Outkast, and Aaliyah as helping to shape the LP. This song's R&B feel reflects the aforementioned musicians influences on the record.
  • Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme delvers soulful backing vocals on both this tune and another AM track, "Knee Socks." Homme sung using a tequila bottle he'd just emptied as an echo chamber.
  • The phrase "One For The Road" refers to a final drink before leaving home to fortify one for the journey ahead. The expression and practice has fallen victim to the increasing enforcement of drink-driving over the past few decades.
  • The black-and-white video represents the Arctic Monkeys individual take on Americana as we see them perform the song in a field, amidst a gaggle of models. It starts with guitarist Jamie Cook slowly riding a tractor as he makes his way to the band's gig clad in a 3-piece suit. The clip was directed by Focus Creeps, who also made the visuals for "R U Mine?" and "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"
  • The song's guitar solo was originally on "Fireside." Turner told NME: "It was on there in a different key, but it didn't really seem to fit."

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