Album: Crooked Shadows (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The lead single from Crooked Shadows finds Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carrabba focusing on a positive outlook of fighting through struggles. Speaking with Beats 1, Carrabba explained the story behind the track.

    "It's a weird thing when you write a song; you think you know what it's about, but you don't [really] until some months later sometimes. So, I thought for sure it was just about how I found a place in the world, which was worth fighting for, which was the music scene that I come from. I wasn't cool in school. I didn't fit in. I found this music scene and it fostered this community and it fostered the people in it. You could be black or white, you could be straight or gay, you could be a man or a woman.

    Everybody was equal and we were equally protected but we were equally encouraged to do something that challenged the status quo. But then the political climate has changed in such a way that, almost days after writing that song, America started to feel really regressive somehow. And all these great strides we made during the last administration had been threatened to be undone, and I realized that people have beliefs worth protecting, worth standing up for and I found a residence in that."
  • The song was Dashboard Confessional's first single since the release of "Belle of the Boulevard" eight years previously in 2009. The band was on hiatus between 2011 and 2015.
  • Carrabba explained to New Noise Magazine how the song's definition changed as he wrote it.

    "There's never one thing, ever, with any song I have. When I write, I either keep the news or SportsCenter on. I need some slight distraction, I guess, so I don't get bogged down. I'm not writing an essay, I'm not sitting there poring over every comma. This frees me up somehow to just let things be wrong for a minute. I can always come back and revise. I'm watching the news and writing this song. The song is ostensibly in my mind about the way I grew up, the music scene I grew up in and the social politics it taught me, but concurrent with the news that's on to my left."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

Dr. John

Dr. JohnSongwriter Interviews

The good doctor shares some candid insights on recording with Phil Spector and The Black Keys.