Pictures

Album: Pep Talks (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This heartbreaking acoustic-driven tribute to a lost love was written by Judah and the Lion frontman Judah Akers in the wake of his parents' marriage breaking down.

    Too scared to move these things from this home we made
    So many good memories and some fatal mistakes
    And I know that you love me still
    But we're not the same
    And if I'm being honest, I don't really want you this way


    Akers explained that he "had a really deep moment" with his mother on the phone when she "broke down bawling about how hard it was to move from our family house." He wrote "Pictures" from her perspective "and it came in a flood, in five minutes, right after the call."

    The singer added that he "needed to write it because I was heartsick."
  • The marital split of Akers' mum and dad coincided with their son's music career taking off as Judah & the Lion's hit "Take It All Back" climbed to the top of the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
  • Kacey Musgraves joins the band on the second verse of the contemplative track crooning more lyrics about the heartbreak that Akers' mom was feeling.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.