13 Voices

Album: 13 Voices (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 2014, Sum 41 frontman Dereck Whibley was hospitalized with liver and kidney failure as a result of years of alcohol abuse. He started working on new songs for the 13 Voices album upon release from hospital. This song, the title track, explains the paranoia Whibley was feeling as he attempted to take care of his health.

    "There's so much chaos in my head of being newly sober, going through recovery and doing everything for the first time, everything felt new and frightening and scary, and there was so much noise in my head of self doubt and insecurity and I was questioning whether I was doing anything correctly," Whibley explained to TeamRock. "I couldn't be around people, everything was just really bizarre. I thought I was going crazy and becoming schizophrenic or something."

    "That's always been a fear of mine, when you see crazy people on the street it's like, 'How did they get there?'" he added. "Is it possible to all of a sudden become crazy one day, and had I done it to myself? I thought I was losing my mind so that's what that song is about and what that title represents, all the voices in my head at once, all screaming at one time."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

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.