Siphon

Album: Okovi (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, originally penned this song for a troubled friend and it wasn't intended for public consumption. She explained:

    "It was written for someone very close to me who had attempted suicide for the second time. In the weeks surrounding this tragedy, I desperately tried everything I could to convince them to stay alive. There is no greater horror than watching someone you love physically destroy themselves… not knowing if you would see them tomorrow. In the end, I decided this song needed to be heard, not only by this person, but by others as well."
  • Zola Jesus wrote the song with longtime live bandmate Alex DeGroot and producer/musician WIFE.
  • The video sees Zola Jesus singing naked while covered in blood. The clip was directed by Zia Anger, who also shot Jenny Hval's 2016 controversial clip for "Conceptual Romance." She commented: "It was a very sobering experience to be trusted with such visceral material."
  • Zia Anger's professional motto is "Whatever I'm going to make the artist do, I try to do it first." She explained to Billboard that for this song's video where it rains a lot on Zola Jesus, "I made sure that I experienced that before she did. It was cathartic."

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