Featherweight

Album: Shore (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Frontman Robin Pecknold began writing Fleet Foxes' fourth album in September 2018, immediately after touring Crack-Up. When the COVID lockdown hit, Pecknold had much of Shore conceptualized and artist contributions recorded, but didn't have any lyrics for his musical compositions.

    When the summer of 2020 rolled around, Pecknold still hadn't written any lyrics he felt comfortable with.

    He became overwhelmed with worry and anxiety about finishing the album. Pecknold began taking day-long drives in his Toyota 4Runner from his apartment in New York up to Lake Minnewaska and into the Catskill Mountains to clear his head. On one such drive, the words to "Featherweight" came to him, broke the gridlock, and set him up for the rest of the record.

    "Before that I had no lyrics and I was really stressed about it, not knowing how to write words that matched the music I was making that didn't put it over the top or dull its impact, that just felt like the right accompaniment," Pecknold explained to American Songwriter. "With 'Featherweight,' the words just materialized line after line like I was just watching it happen."
  • The words not only fitted a melody he'd had for around a year, they also matched the gratitude Pecknold felt for being still alive and not out of work. He'd been feeling thankful "in terms of having a roof over my head and of not being waylaid by the pandemic and the decimation of the music business."

    "I guess I was feeling that my problems seemed small compared to what's going on," Pecknold added. "That's a better place to live mentally regardless."
  • The song title doesn't appear in the lyrics but refers to how Pecknold's time in lockdown helped make his problems seem more "featherweight." He told Apple Music the song finds him "acknowledging that I've made problems for myself sometimes in my life when there weren't really any."
  • Robin Pecknold's older brother, Sean, directed the animated stop-motion video. Sean Pecknold has worked on many of Fleet Foxes' music videos in the past, including "White Winter Hymnal," "Can I Believe You," and "Sunblind."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."