Tymps (the Sick in the Head Song)

Album: Extraordinary Machine (2005)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Tymps" in this case is short for "timpani," which are kettle drums. Fiona wrote the song on a portable Yamaha electric keyboard she had at home, which is something she rarely does, since most of her writing is on a piano. The song had a timpani sound, which is how it got the title.

    Brian Kehew, who co-produced the Extraordinary Machine album, told Songfacts: "It was a temporary title for it called 'Tymps,' because that's how we referenced the song. Then it eventually got subtitled 'Sick in the Head,' because that was one of the funny lyrics in it. But she wrote it that way and it inspired her to create something different than she might have done on the piano."
  • In this song, Fiona looks back on some poor decisions she made regarding a love interest, and wonders if it was love or insanity that was responsible for her actions. Like she did on another track from the album - "Red Red Red" - she sings in colors on this one: "The red isn't the red we painted, it's just rust."
  • The Extraordinary Machine album was leaked on the internet months before its official release. "Tymps" did not appear on the leaked version.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.