Crying Shame

Album: In Between Dreams (2005)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Johnson said of this song: "I had a few of the lines for it here and there. But what really inspired me to write the rest of it was an interview with Kurt Vonnegut I read where he was asked if he felt that the leaders of today - cultural, political, and artistic - were being responsible to their society. And he had this line that I thought was great where he said, 'Forget about society. What about humanity in general?' And so that was the idea for the song. The first line is, 'By now we should know how to communicate instead of coming to blows.' It just seems that in this day and age with email and telephones, it's crazy how we still have wars. It seems that everything should be able to be worked out through a conversation by now, if there's just a little bit of compassion on every side."

Comments: 1

  • AnonymousFrom Yao Ling & Chen Po (Air Date on 2021)
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.