Amongst the Shadows & the Stones

Album: What the Dead Men Say (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Guitarist Corey Beaulieu came up with the idea for this song, inspired by a war history website that he follows. The site posted a story of a soldier visiting the graves of his fallen comrades, which he described as walking "amongst the shadows and the stones."

    The first lyric Beaulieu came up with was, "The ghosts of war will haunt my bones, amongst the shadows and the stones," which then inspired the music he wrote for it.
  • Beaulieu had already inserted the screams on the "amongst the shadows and the stones" part of the hook. When he played the demo to his bandmates, bassist Paolo Gregoletto took that and started writing lyrics for the rest of the song. He explained to Apple Music that the lyrical subject changed as they got deeper into the songwriting.

    "I ended up thinking about how we're coming up on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the war on terror, and what the real consequences have been - not only for us, but for the people on the other end," he said. "So it's about the aftermath, when the dust has settled and there's just rubble and nothing."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"They're Playing My Song

Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.