You Haven't Told Me Anything

Album: Perfect Symmetry (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 2006 Tom Chaplin went through a melt-down caused by drink and drug abuse. It culminated in the Keane vocalist whilst on tour in Japan, leaving their hotel without warning and flying on his own back to Britain and booking into rehab. Pianist and chief-songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley told Keaneshine that this was one of two songs on Perfect Symmetry that referred to that difficult period. He explained: "There are only a couple of songs that refer specifically to that time – Again And Again and You Haven't Told Me Anything are the two that spring to mind, although they both deal with the topic from a slightly unusual point of view. Other than that, I kind of wanted to move on from the whole subject, so it doesn't really feature too heavily on the album. The whole episode ended well, and by hook or by crook we found our way back to music, which has always had a magical power to heal the deepest of wounds. In a way the fact that the album makes very little reference to that time is the clearest reflection of the fact that we've made it through those hard times and are in a much more creative and exciting place."
  • This song has the quickest tempo of any Keane track to date and it also took Rice-Oxley a long time to write. He told Keaneshine: "You Haven't Told Me Anything is one of my favorite songs on the record, but the lyrics took me forever. I remember coming up with the hook for that in Paris in late 2006, and didn't finish it until the end of 2007, so that was quite a long time I guess! It's a very fast song and I had a lot that I wanted to pack in to some pretty short lines."
  • Rice-Oxley (from Perfect Symmetry's bonus DVD): "You Haven't Told Me Anything is another unusual song for us sonically, its much more beat driven I suppose. And it was one of the first songs we worked on. We worked on it a lot with Jon Brion, an American producer, who again, that was a really pivotal moment in the making of the record, he persuaded us to really open our minds and stop censoring ourselves before actually trying out ideas, which is a very easy trap fall into."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

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

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

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."