Pretty Things

Album: Blackbirds (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Gretchen Peters wrote this haunting song with her friend Ben Glover (Colton Dixon's "Love Has Come for Me," Lee Brice's "Hard To Love"). She told Billboard magazine the story of the tune: "I had this idea, which essentially became the first verse, about this woman talking about aging and needing her stock, or her looks," she said. "I felt it was something I wanted to tackle, but it wasn't something I wanted to do head-on."

    "I ended up playing it for Ben when we were writing songs for this album. It ended up being more about all the things we lose along the way," Peters continued. "There was a mention about the Nashville flood [of 2010] in the second verse. That experience is still with me -- the fact that you can lose so much in such a seemingly non-dramatic kind of way. The sun was out, and the worst damage had actually taken place while the sun was shining. I'm happy we were able to take it in more of a metaphorical territory."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.