Dragonhead

Album: Hunkpapa (1989)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • While Kristin Hersh wrote most of Throwing Muses' songs, her co-frontwoman and stepsister Tanya Donelly regularly penned one or two tracks on each record. Her contributions were invariably more poppy and straightforward than Hersh's stark and candid tunes. This song, which captures the brutal-yet-innocent violence of a child's imagination and dreams, is one of two songs she wrote for Hunkpapa, their third album.
  • Though Tanya Donelly penned the song in just 20 minutes, it encouraged her as a songwriter. She told Uncut:

    "I felt like I locked into something with that song, that it was a step forward, a feeling that I was... on the right bus.

    Kristin came over to my mother's house. She had her Walkman and her headphones on and she had just heard the finished 'Dragonhead' and said, 'I just wanted to come over to say that the song is very wonderful and you should write more.' It was moving to me that her message should be: you should take up more space."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Wedding Bell Blues

Wedding Bell BluesSong Writing

When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.