Who Killed Truth

Album: Direction Of The Heart (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The very concept of truth was in question by 2022 as politics and discourse got rather idealogical. In this song, Simple Minds take a look at this development and ask us to root out those who peddle their own truths for nefarious reasons:

    People coming together
    A feeling inside
    Stop the illusion
    One they know they can't hide


    "I think it's a beautiful phrase: who killed truth?" lead singer Jim Kerr told Forbes. "It's almost Shakespearean or something. I know that it has been used in some of the sort of political discourses. And it sort of sums up the dichotomy of where we get our media these days and can you believe anything?"

    "Getting older, I see it this way," he added. "It's not so much that, 'Hey, these are songs with a message.' It's perhaps songs that are reflecting the questions that are in the air by a lot of people that spend time thinking about these things."
  • This is a track from the 18th Simple Minds album, Direction Of The Heart. Like most of the tracks, it was written by their remaining founders, frontman Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill. They recorded in Sicily, where they both live, mostly during the pandemic.

    "At the moment we live in this world where it's all spin," Burchill told Under The Radar. "People no longer care about lying because they know that you know they're lying. It's an unprecedented situation where truth doesn't matter any more. That song has had some evolution. It was an idea I had on the electric piano in the early '90s during an album called Real Life. It was an early Roxy Music type song. We kept on re-visiting it and Jim really pushed that. Eventually, we were about to leave it alone again and I put a couple of guitar lines on it and Jim got very excited. Then the track moved in a completely different direction, sound-wise."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"They're Playing My Song

The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Thomas Dolby

Thomas DolbySongwriter Interviews

He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.