Songfacts®:

• Chevelle singer and guitarist Pete Loeffler discussed the story of this acoustic-driven song with Artist Direct: "For 'Prima Donna,' I went backwards in my head. I remembered a time where I was probably out with some friends and there were some rich girls that I was hanging around in this wealthy area of Chicago. It was always fun - especially when you're in your teens - but it was weird. The 'Prima Donna' title just had to go on there. It's funny when you write songs at different points in your life. Different things come out, and you don't really know why. Maybe I was longing for that time when nothing was really a big deal."
• The phrase "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." Opera companies originally used the term to designate their leading female singer to whom the prime roles would be given. Because of their pulling power at the box office, some of these Prima Donnas were overly demanding and exhibited an inflated view of themselves, however because of their talent, and pulling power at the box office, their excesses were indulged. Today the term has become a mainstream word outside opera to describe an often-temperamental person with high expectations of others who becomes angry when his or her standards or demands are not met.