Citycide

Album: Citycide (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Dead Ships lead singer Devlin McCluskey lost his best friend to suicide, and that was very much on his mind when he wrote "Citycide."

    On a visit to San Francisco, McCluskey got an informal tour of the city from a friend, who pointed out that the Golden Gate Bridge was the second-biggest suicide spot in the world (the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in China is the most popular). And curiously, the vast majority of jumpers do so off the side of the bridge that faces the city, not the side that faces the ocean. Thus the line, "Everybody jumps off the city side."

    "there was something very poetic, very sad about the fact that, instead of jumping off on the side facing the ocean, the side facing the water, everyone jumps off with one last look at the city," Devlin said in his Songfacts Interview. "Like they're sending a message to the city, saying goodbye to it."
  • The title is meant to mean "death by city." McCluskey told us it's "That feeling of isolation where you're surrounded by millions of people in the city, but you still feel like you're there all by yourself."
  • The song first appeared on the group's first EP (titled EP I) in 2015. The following year, it was used as the title track to their third full-length album. The song was produced by Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene, whom they met at the NXNE festival in Canada.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sam Hollander

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.