Pain

Album: Cold World (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This blistering track was released as the lead single from Of Mice And Men's Cold World album. The band performed the tune live for the first time on June 28, 2016 at the opening show of the group's tour with Slipknot and Marilyn Manson in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Frontman Austin Carlile told the story behind the song to Alternative Press:

    "It's called 'Pain' because that is what it's about: It talks about my personal journey of the last few years and how I relate that to the current state of the world that we live in now. People face pain every day, whether it be physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, metaphysically, metaphorically—everything. It's something we wanted to touch on because it's been such a big part of my life and pain in general has been something I have been living and breathing for the past 12, 15 years."
  • Carlile suffers from Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue of the body. This song is about his struggles with the condition. He told TeamRock:

    "I wake up every day in pain. All my joints get swollen, and sometimes I can't feel my legs or different parts of my body, and sometimes I can't function in the morning unless I take a hot shower and do all my exercises. It's a constant struggle for me.

    With the band, through St. Jude [Children's Research Hospital] or The Marfan Foundation or Living The Dream Foundation, we've met a lot of people that are in a lot of severe physical pain, and I wanted to write a song for myself and for them to embody what that feels like."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

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.

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."

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.