Lottery

Album: Something American (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • British singer-songwriter Jade Bird headed to New York's Catskill Mountains and Woodstock to record her debut release, the five-song EP Something American. This folksy, guitar-helmed track follows a barside conversation between Bird and an ex, which includes elements taken directly from real-life events.

    You used to tell me
    Love is a lottery, but
    You've got your numbers
    And you're betting on me


    Bird explained the story behind the song to The Boot:

    "It came out of a conversation - well, the words to the title came out of a conversation, and what really inspired the concept were those words.

    I had this grand image in my head: I loved the word, and I tried to make the verses super-personal. One of them was based on a cafe in London where me and my ex sat down and actually had that exact same conversation as in the song. That's how it came about."
  • Bird wrote the song alongside producer Simone Felice (formerly of The Felice Brothers). Rolling Stone reports she affectionately calls Felice, "a hippie with a really cool vibe."
  • Released as the lead single from Something American, "Lottery" climbed all the way to #1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart.

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