Mouth Of The King

Album: King's Mouth (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • King's Mouth is a concept album about a giant king whose head absorbs the universe. This song is a gentle acoustic rumination on mortality, rebirth and the vastness of the universe.
  • Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne's lyrics are fantastical, and the storyline running through the record makes little literal sense. Speaking with Uncut magazine, he compared his "Mouth Of The King" tale to fantasy movies such as Star Wars.

    "I don't know where these people live. I don't know what dimension their little village is in, but I think you just have to go ahead and accept it," Coyne said. "Like Star Wars, it just puts you in there, you don't really need to answer too many questions. Like, why is Chewbacca one of these characters with these humans in space?"
  • The Clash guitarist Mick Jones provides narration in his cockney tones on several tracks. Wayne Coyne told Uncut: "We all absolutely love him, and when I started to consider that it wasn't going to be one of the Flaming Lips doing this narration, I can't quite explain why but Mick was the only person I had in my mind."

    It was fellow punk legend Don Letts who got Jones on board. Coyne recalled: "I spoke to Don about it and he said, 'Mick won't want to do it but I'll get him to do it.' Ha!"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.