On Coming From A Broken Home

Album: I'm New Here (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • I'm New Here is the thirteenth studio album by American Soul artist and poet Gil Scott-Heron, and this two-parted ode to his upbringing bookends the record.
  • This track is split into two parts, which open and close I'm New Here. It is a tribute to the women in Scott-Heron's family, especially his maternal grandmother Lily Scott, with whom he was sent to live at the age of three in Jackson, Tennessee and who held the family together. He told The Daily Telegraph: "Lillie Scott was a different kind of woman. She only had a bit of schooling, but she put four kids through college."
  • Both parts of the song features samples from Kanye West's "Flashing Lights." West previously borrowed from Scott-Heron's 1971 track "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" for his 2005 number, "My Way Home."
  • I'm New Here was Scott-Heron's first album of original material in sixteen years, following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction. Recording sessions for the album took place between 2007 and 2009 with XL Recordings-owner Richard Russell handling the production.
  • Here's a piece of football trivia. Scott-Heron's Jamaican father, Gilbert "Gil" Heron was a soccer player who was nicknamed "The Black Arrow." In the 1950s he became the first black footballer to play for Glasgow Celtic.

Comments: 1

  • Beth L from NashvilleWho wrote the gorgeous, heartbreaking lyrics to Kansas' song "Broken Home"? It sounds like Steve Walsh's mentality; but, of course, he & Kerry did occasiinally co-write. Unless, of course, it was religious prosyletizing which Steve most intelligently avoided at all cost!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.