Hang Me Up To Dry

Album: Robbers & Cowards (2007)
Charted: 57
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, laundry that has been hung on a clothesline is used as a metaphor for getting caught in a one-sided relationship. The girl keeps leading him on just to disappoint him, which is "hanging him out to dry." The clicking at the end of the song simulates the clothesline. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • Bassist Matt Maust told Spin magazine about the reason for the band's name: "I had the name six or seven years before the band started - so probably since 1997. I was traveling in Eastern Europe with my brother. There's this big park in Budapest where they dumped all these statues that had been removed after Communism fell. Now it's just a place where people can go and have picnics. There's a playground there. So being in that environment just made the phrase 'Cold War Kids' pop into my head. I may have heard it before. I'm a cold war kid, too - I was born in 1979. Originally, I used the name for a website I had where I posted art and poems. Then when I started playing music with the guys, they thought it would be a good name for the band, too."

Comments: 2

  • Patrick from Overland Park, Ksthis is just a cool song. The reverb bass line is awesome
  • Hunter from Flint, Miabsolutely amazing song. enough said.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.