Desperado

Album: Broke With Expensive Taste (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Azealia Banks penned this song about a past abusive relationship. She explained to ES Magazine: "I was dating this guy from when I was 17 years old. He was much older than me and he had a wife and he lied to me and told me he was divorced so that I would fall in love with him. And then he told me he was going to get a divorce and I was like: 'I thought you were already divorced?' Then we broke up and I went to Montreal and wrote '212.'"

    However, Banks visa ran out, so she returned to New York and hooked up with the guy again. "He came back around again and tried to control me and put all these bad things into my head, just really f--k up my happiness and f--k up my good time," she recalled. "I said, 'No. You can't do that.' And then one day he just, like, bugged out. He would take testosterone and steroids and antidepressants. We got into a fight and he beat me up. He actually beat me up twice because I was stupid and went back."
  • The video for the title track of Banks' 2012 1991 EP was filmed the day after the abusive guy hit her. "I still had a cut on the inside of my lip," she said.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Edwin McCain

Edwin McCainSongwriter Interviews

"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."