Into the Wild

Album: Into the Wild (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The song was written by Connell Cruise, American Authors' guitarist James Shelley, and songwriter/producer, Ido Zmishlany. The trio wrote it over Skype because Cruise lives in South Africa while Shelley and Zmishlany are located in New York.

    In our interview with Zmishlany, he explained the process of creating the tune. "It was definitely the first time that I'd done a Skype session in that capacity," he said. "I tweaked the lyrics from there, but it was the first time that I straight up wrote the song on Skype. I produced the song and then worked back and forth with Connell over the internet to finish it. We had done two songs over the internet before we'd actually ever met in person."
  • This jungle-themed song is about leaving your comfort zone and venturing into the unknown. Cruise has an exotic sound that works on the track. His producer Ido Zmishlany told us: "There's a great world music sound that he's got happening. I think there's a great lineage of songwriters in that vein that we haven't seen in a long time. It's so exciting to be a part of something like it and that's just different."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.