Hannah Hunt

Album: Modern Vampires of the City (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vampire Weekend first started working on this song with the subject matter of worrying about life rushing past during the early days of the band at Columbia University in New York City. Vocalist Ezra Koenig told NME: "We first started writing it in college. The chorus feels like it has an important line for the album. 'Though we live on the US dollar. You and me, we got our own sense of time.' Two people enjoying their youth, but maybe there's the first seeds of discontent popping up..."
  • The band had the song in their back pocket for a long time before they found an album where it fitted. Ezra Koenig told Q magazine: "Our leftovers tend to be snippets, a beat, an idea, a lyric. Sometimes they just didn't have enough time. 'Hannah Hunt's' roots go back seven years but this is the LP it belonged on. So things get discarded but never discarded eternally. You never know when it will make sense."
  • Vampire Weekend recorded an uncompleted version of the song for their Contra album. According to the band's Rostam Batmanglij, "it sounded kinda like 'Say It Right' by Nelly Furtado."
  • Hannah Hunt is a real person Ezra Koenig sat next to in an Indo-Tibetan-Buddhism class at college. The song isn't specifically about her, but Koenig "always thought she had such a great name."

    A few years after graduating, Hannah Hunt joined the San Francisco group Dominant Legs as their keyboardist and vocalist. The band released a full-length album, Invitation, in 2011.

Comments: 1

  • Tristan from San FranciscoIt was my lover since a young age
    The castle would have my collections
    She wouldn’t know ny
    She wouldn’t be alive to marry
see more comments

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.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.