Fake Money

Album: High Noon (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first track on Arkells third album, High Noon, is reminiscent of the song "Deadlines" that begins their critically acclaimed and commercially successful 2008 debut album, Jackson Square. In our interview with Arkells lead singer and guitarist, Max Kerman, he called "Fake Money" a "Deadlines: Part 2" because of their similar themes.
  • The band wanted to come out swinging with this tune on High Noon and showcase that at their core they are still a five-piece rock and roll band. "Fake Money" is Arkells first "protest song" and meant to be a fist-pumper.

    The song is about people in the position of power such as business men and investment bankers who control money. They can sometimes act recklessly with other people’s money treating it like a fun game. They can behave like children with money causing disastrous outcomes rather than responsibly handling it. The opening verse of the song displays this meaning well:

    Oh, you're just a boy
    A little banker boy
    Everything's a game
    Now everyone's your toy
  • The title of the album was partly inspired by the 1952 western film High Noon starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly because of the cinematic theme of the album. The title was taken from a lyric in "Fake Money" when Kerman sings, "You're some cowboy at high noon."

    In our interview with Kerman, he explained the meaning behind the title of the record, "I think at high noon there is a moment of complication and there should be some clarity after the fact. A lot of these songs are trying to provide that clarity."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."