Songfacts®:

• The Dresden Dolls were the duo of Brian Viglione and Amanda Palmer. Viglione played drums and guitar, while Palmer handled vocals, piano and songwriting. In our interview with Amanda Palmer, we asked if "Delilah" was a real person. Palmer told us: "No, Delilah's like a human mash-up. I didn't have an actual friend named Delilah. She just creeped into my consciousness. But she's as many parts me as she is all of the down-and-out friends I've had over the years."
• Explaining how she wrote this song, Palmer said: "That one actually has a really interesting story. There's an article I wrote for Shambhala Sun, which is a Buddhist magazine. I wrote a little article about how I got the idea for that song. ("Melody Versus Meditation" by Amanda Palmer) I was on a silent meditation retreat where you're not supposed to read or write or record anything. Well, I started writing in my head when I was on a walk, and that's why it's a three-chord song with such a simple melody. I wrote the whole thing in my head on a half-hour walk. I couldn't make it very complicated. But I had the whole thing stuck in my head, and then I struggled with, "Well, I'm supposed to be on this retreat. But it's such a good f--king song, and if I don't write it down it's just gonna replay in my head. And I'm gonna try and keep it there, which is gonna distract me, so really maybe I should write it down so that I can meditate. But I can't –" (laughing) I drove myself crazy, and ultimately I opted to be really naughty and write it down real fast."