Martha

Album: All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This turbulent mood-piece features conversational lyrics about Rufus' relationship with his younger sister, the singer Martha Wainwright. The song was inspired by the impending tragedy of their late mother Kate McGarrigle's. death. Wainwright explained to The Sun April 2, 2010: "I wrote it at a very intense time when my mother was in hospital and I was in Berlin. The song is about me trying to get hold of Martha. Everything was looking scary for Mum and I realized how important my relationship my relationship with my sister is.

    When you're dealing with the death of a parent, it makes sense why you're brother and sister. Martha loves the track though she's a bit annoyed with its tongue-in-cheek manner about never returning my calls. When she heard about it she said, 'Great, here I am pregnant and Mum's sick and you're attacking me on my phone etiquette. But once she heard the song she realized it was a love song and an emotional plea about us getting together. We'd fight when we were kids and Mum would say, 'You only have each other, so get over it' and now we know exactly what she meant."

Comments: 1

  • Serena Maile from Sudbury, Suffolk, U.k.Fabulous songs and songwriters and Amazing Artists. I love all of your Lyrics, Melodies and Beautiful and Soul inducing and Wonderful songs / Music. I can’t thank you and Martha and your parents etc. Enough !!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."