Temple

Album: Mechanical Bull (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song about taking a shot in the head for a prospective lover was penned in a South African hotel room. "Obviously things changed when we got in the studio, like the intro, but it felt like a '90s song to me," vocalist Caleb Followill told Billboard magazine. "That's when we were listening to a lot of music, and still when we play it, we crack up the whole time, this the most radio friendly song…"

    The Mechanical Bull Deluxe edition bonus track "Last Mile Home" was penned the same night.
  • According to drummer Nathan Followill, the breakdown in the song is the band's ode to Irish rockers Thin Lizzy.
  • The band have performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.
  • The song's music video splits between sepia-toned Super 8 footage shot around the band's home town of Nashville and shots of an in-studio performance of the song. "The Super 8 footage was shot by the band, myself and director Paul Greenhouse on the day of the video and the days leading up to it," said Casey McGrath, chief creative officer at the Phear Creative, the agency behind the clip. "Nashville (is a) part of the band's life that is extremely near and dear to their hearts."

    A Prince and two Princesses of Leon can be seen on hand in the studio: Caleb's daughter Dixie, Nathan's daughter Violet, and Matthew's son Knox.

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