Lonely Town

Album: The Desired Effect (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This E Street Band-inspired anthem is actually Flowers' take on The Police's "Every Breath You Take," which if you listen closely, you'll realize is about obsession rather than love. "It just feels like this breezy love song," Flowers told Radio.com. "But, if you wrote the lyrics down or listened to them a little more intently, it's actually pretty creepy."

    Flowers added regarding the seemingly harmless line, "When will you come home again?" "It sounds all nice, 'When will you come home again?,' but it's really scary. Someone saying, 'When will you come home again? Did you lock the door when it shut?' You know, those lines can mean a variety of things."
  • The throwback music video features a young woman dancing around her house to Flowers' music unaware that someone is watching her through the window.
  • This features percussion by Danielle Haim. The Haim band member told NME: "I asked to play drums on 'Lonely Town' as I loved the demo. I came up with the idea for the beat, reacting to what he already had."
  • Brandon Flowers told The Sun how Danielle Haim ended up playing drums on the track: "Danielle was around a lot as Ariel (Rechtshaid, The Desired Effect producer) is working on the new Haim record. We were playing a warm-up gig in San Francisco and I asked did she want to sing on a song? Ariel said she actually wants to play drums on 'On Top' (from Hot Fuss). I'd not played 'On Top' in years and I didn't even know she was a drummer. So I got the OK from Ronnie (Vannucci Jr, Killers drummer) and she was great. And on 'Lonely Town' she killed it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."