1980

Album: The 18th Day (2004)
Charted: 14
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is an autobiographical tale about Estelle living in an apartment above a dead man. She told Giantmag the story of the song: "Oh, that man - he was really old, like extremely old and he had no one coming up to see him, no one to comfort him. But he had all of these cats. Before we knew he passed, my mom began wondering about the smell and she would be like 'Estelle, clean up your room' (laughs). One day, we went downstairs and banged on his door just to check on him and no one answered. And I thought to myself, maybe he's dead and sure enough he was."
  • This was Estelle's debut single.
  • In the same interview with Giantmag.com, Estelle, who was born on January 18th 1980, was asked why she titled her album The 18th Day: "18, it represents my birthday. My first album, The 18th Day, was a dedication to my mother. During my birth she had a procedure that left her near death, but she came back in time to give birth to me. So the album was almost like me thanking her for bringing me here."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

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.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.