Album: Into the Blues (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This blues track is from the perspective of a boy who likes a girl from the wrong side of town, "the part where folks live on welfare, the part where you find needles on the ground."

    "That was someone I know," Armatrading said of the narrator. She explained the story to Daniel Rachel, author of The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters: "He was not rich, but from good parents, and she was from a poor family. Very different backgrounds, and all his friends were saying, 'Forget her. How are you going to make this work? She's from a council estate, you're in your posh little house, it's not going to work.' That's why you hear all the: you're from a part where 'folks live on welfare.'"
  • With Into the Blues, Armatrading was the first female UK artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Blues chart. The album was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, making her the first female UK artist to ever be nominated in that category.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.