Nameless, Faceless

Album: Tell Me How You Really Feel (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Nameless, Faceless" finds Courtney Barnett singing about misogyny and internet trolls.

    He said "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup
    And spit out better words than you"
    But you didn't


    The words were inspired by a comment that a troll had made about Barnett's music. Rather than taking offense, the singer found it so amusing she stuck it into this song adding the withering response.

    Must be lonely
    Being angry
    Feeling over-looked
    You sit alone at home in the darkness
    With all the pent-up rage that you harness
    I'm real sorry
    'Bout whatever happened to you
  • Barnett loosely quotes in the hook Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood's line, "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them."

    I want to take a walk in the park at night
    Men are afraid that women will laugh at them
    I want to walk in the park at night
    Women are afraid that men will kill them


    Barnett said: "I actually lifted it from an article, not knowing it was her quote. I didn't know who she was until I saw The Handmaid's Tale, and I didn't make the connection until I was getting the album credits together. But I'd seen it a couple times in things I was reading, and I remember being like, 'That is the strongest point.' Because it's so dumbed-down, it's kind of funny - the way it flips is funny - even though it's not a funny thing at all."
  • Barnett told Pitchfork: "It was a hard song to fit together, because the music was this combination of three songs I was working on, and the lyrics came later. Instrumentally it's so silly, it's got such a poppy verse."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

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

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.