No One's Sleeping

Album: Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "No One's Sleeping" pertains to be about the murder in the UK of Labour MP Jo Cox. The politician was killed by Thomas Mair, a mentally ill man associated with far-right organizations. Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox told Uncut:

    "I think it's important for the English to realize they don't live on a cultural island and that the death of Jo Cox had a profound human impact on me as if it happened in my own country. It's a representative of the ills of our culture. It's representative of that mania, of nationalism. It's madness that this person died so violently, a person with a family, with friendships and scent memories and a whole catalogue of first dates and phone calls and favorite books and songs. I don't have to sit there and politicize how I feel about Brexit - this has nothing to do with Brexit - it's how I feel about the irrational taking over and destroying life."
  • Bradford admits the song's themes are violent and nihilistic. He explained to Consequence of Sound: "We've reached a sort of very dismal nadir. A lot of times that leads to some kind of revolution and renaissance, but I don't know. It's not my job to be pleasant, you know? So I have no problem saying that there's not really a bright side."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.