How Sweet The Light

Album: Oui (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "I'm walking away from my suicide," Nash Kato of Urge Overkill sings on "How Sweet The Light," a track from their 2022 album Oui. The song recalls a very dark period when he nearly succumbed to desperation.

    Urge Overkill got a big break in 1994 when their cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" was used in the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction. Unfortunately, they quickly lost their momentum and split up three years later. They regrouped in 2004, but Kato was in really bad shape.

    "I was living in LA and I could not scare up any game," he said in a Songfacts interview. "The money dried up, and I've never harbored any suicidal tendencies, but it got to the point where I was like, 'I don't want to do this,' but it seemed like the most convenient way out of my dilemma.

    I was thinking about things that are worth sticking around for in life, and I thought: pizza, beer, football - but none of them sang that well, so I thought, 'My girlfriend's tits!' That's worth sticking around for.

    It's sort of a life-affirmation tune. But it's from the heart. I was surviving that and I got a song out of it."
  • Kato credits a good friend - a successful actor he doesn't want to name - for helping him get on his feet. "He swooped in and saved my ass," Kato told Songfacts. "I really was left for dead. He swung in with his checkbook and I was able to turn it around. I left LA, but it was an interesting experience. I survived and proceeded to continue with the band."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.