Biblical

Album: Opposites (2013)
Charted: 70
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Life should have been good for Biffy Clyro's vocalist Simon Neil after the worldwide success of the band's 2009 album Only Revolutions. However the following few years saw his wife suffer three miscarriages in quick succession, whilst his relationship with the band's drummer Ben Johnston broke down because of the stickman's problems with alcohol. He explained to Kerrang! in late 2012 how this song represented his state of mind at the time: "It's generally about that time last year where I felt like everything was falling apart," he said. "It's about trying to give someone something and it's not helping; you're not going anywhere and you've reached a point where it's f---ed. There are some lyrics about hanging from invisible chords. It's not literally about suicide, but that's the idea - partly about the band, partly about me and my wife; that idea of 'stay together or end it.'"
  • The song originally had a gospel choir on it, before the band decided to ditch them. Bassist James Johnston told The Sun newspaper: "It was a step too far. We tried different rhythms and different structures. We always knew there was a great song in there, so we kept working on it. Having a gospel choir sounded very impressive, but it just didn't really sound like us. It was a difficult decision to make but we ended up leaving that off the song. It sounded enormous without it."
  • Simon Neil told NME: "It was the one song where we didn't know what we were doing so we kept it rhythmically straightforward. We decided to have a more synthesized element, which is weird for us. Whenever I hear a rock band using a synthesizer it's like eek. But I think this works. It's an incredibly personal song about me and my wife and I love it."
  • Neil told Kerrang! magazine about the difficult experiences that inspire his songwriting: "I Actually find it easier to write when I've been going through dark times, or things have been going wrong in my private life," he said. "With a song like 'Biblical,' I've got lots of things flying through my mind, and it's clichéd but it can be therapeutic."
  • Simon Neil (from Kerrang): "I wrote the music for 'Biblical' in Toronto and it was originally for a Faces concept record about Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart - and their coke habits!"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.