Songfacts®:

• First Comes The Night represents the first album that Chris Isaak has written and recorded mainly in Nashville, a change in location that came about partly through a suggestion of his friend Stevie Nicks. "Somehow even I had some misconceptions about Nashville," Isaak confessed. "You'd think a music guy who's been in the business as long as I have would know better. I'm a huge fan of country music since I grew up listening to Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Buck Owens, and I know my country history well, but even I somehow forgot Nashville is - and always been - about more than just country."
• Isaak wrote this song with two Music City songwriters, Gordie Sampson and Caitlyn Smith. He recalled the story of the song: "In Nashville today, people often write in groups of three. I loved writing this one in a trio."
  
  "I've been kicking around the first line for a while about how 'Kennedy got it in a Lincoln. Caesar got it in the back. Somebody told me Hank Williams died in his Cadillac.' I thought they might think it was too strange, but immediately Caitlyn came in with 'Down In Flames' and Gordie came up with 'Elvis died alone or did he?' which really made me laugh. As you can hear, we all had a lot of fun going 'Down In Flames' together."