28 Songs Written About Bandmates

Folks write songs about other folks. And that naturally comprises one’s personal bandmates.

In some instances, the aim of writing a track a couple of bandmate is to shed light on emotions of animosity, whether or not they are justified or no longer. In any case, what higher option to get some degree throughout than in the course of the very medium that you just as soon as discovered commonplace floor in. That is extra most probably as soon as a musician has left a band (ex: George Harrison‘s “Sue Me, Sue You Blues”), however every so often happens whilst the crowd continues to be very a lot in combination (Fleetwood Mac‘s “Cross Your Personal Approach,” for instance.)

Which isn’t to mention the intent is all the time spiteful. In some eventualities, the gesture is in point of fact supposed with kindness — Crimson Floyd penned a number of songs that paid tribute to former member Syd Barrett, a key determine of their building even after his departure.

Underneath we are having a look at 28 Songs Written About Bandmates, ex or another way.

1. The Beatles, “Now not Responsible”
From: Anthology 3 (1996)

Early on within the Beatles’ profession, George Harrison earned himself the nickname of Quiet One, however that merely wasn’t as correct as many lovers had been resulted in imagine. Harrison in truth had no drawback expressing his opinion, particularly towards the top of the Fab 4’s time in combination. In 1968, he wrote a track referred to as “Now not Responsible” that used to be impressed by means of the band’s public (and indisputably embarrassing) falling out with the Maharishi, plus the release of Apple Corps. “I would possibly not disillusioned the apple cart,” Harrison sings. However the track went unreleased till Harrison after all incorporated it on his 1979 self-titled solo LP, and it seemed once more on 1996’s Anthology 3.

2. Brian Eno, “Lifeless Finks Do not Communicate”
From: Right here Come the Heat Jets (1973)

Probably the most abnormal issues about songwriting is that every so often you are no longer absolutely acutely aware of who or what you are writing about till a lot in a while. Such used to be the case with Brian Eno’s “Lifeless Finks Do not Communicate,” a track from his debut solo album. It wasn’t till after the monitor used to be recorded that his engineer, Chris Thomas, famous that it used to be very obviously about Eno’s former Roxy Song bandmate Bryan Ferry. This used to be no longer his intent, and but it made sense. “So I listened again to it and it clearly used to be,” Eno recalled in 1975. “It used to be indisputably one thing I hadn’t learned. Necessarily these types of songs don’t have any which means that I invested in them. Meanings may also be generated inside of their very own framework.”

3. Buffalo Springfield, “A Kid’s Declare to Reputation”
From: Buffalo Springfield Once more (1967)

It took just about 50 years for Neil Younger to determine that Buffalo Springfield’s “A Kid’s Declare to Reputation,” penned by means of Richie Furay, used to be about him. “We did ‘Kid’s Declare to Reputation’ at the reunion excursion in 2011,” Furay as soon as informed Uncut. “We had been enjoying Santa Barbara, there is 5,000 other folks available in the market, and Neil stops. ‘Hang up, hang up!’ he says. ‘Richie, did you write this track about me?’ That is Neil for you. Yeah, after I wrote it, I used to be pissed off with the man, however that is how we communicated with one every other.”

4. David Crosby, “Cowboy Film”
From: If I May just Best Have in mind My Identify (1971)

Infrequently, the city simply wasn’t large enough for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Younger. In his 1971 solo track, “Cowboy Film,” Crosby portrays his bandmates as Western outlaws, struggling with for the love of a Local American lady who used to be in response to Rita Coolidge. Each Graham Nash and Stephen Stills fell for Coolidge, resulting in an uncomfortable love triangle that wound up with Coolidge leaving Stills for Nash.

5. David Lee Roth, “Someplace Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill”
From: Someplace Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill (2020)

Sure, David Lee Roth famous upon its 2020 unencumber that “Someplace Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill” used to be a tribute to the past due Eddie Van Halen, however in a broader sense, the track recounts Van Halen‘s early days and the way significant the ones reminiscences together with his former bandmates are to Roth. “I by no means knew me a greater time,” he sings, “and I suppose I by no means will.” (Many years previous in 1988, Roth additionally wrote about fond instances in “Rattling Just right.”)

6. Deep Pink, “Clean Dancer”
From: Who Do We Assume We Are (1973)

A few years after the truth, Deep Pink guitarist Jerry Bloom wound up revealing in considered one of his books that Ian Gillan used to be writing about his every so often irritating dating with Ritchie Blackmore in “Clean Dancer.” “You would higher grasp on tightly,” he sings about somebody who attire in black suede. “You need to rule the sector.”

7. Elvis Costello, “How you can Be Dumb”
From: Mighty Like a Rose (1991)

In 1990, bassist Bruce Thomas launched his first e book, The Large Wheel, a memoir that didn’t precisely paint his former boss Elvis Costello in probably the most flattering mild. Many assumed that Costello’s scathing 1991 track “How you can Be Dumb” used to be a reaction to the e book, which Costello did not in reality deny. “It is every so often just right to let your frustration out after which flip it into one thing else,” he informed The Cord in 1991. “To be fair, if there are references to Bruce’s e book on this track then I want Bruce can have grew to become his frustration into one thing somewhat extra ingenious than The Large Wheel, which is a whingeing memoir masquerading very badly as a singular.”

8. Fleetwood Mac, “Cross Your Personal Approach”
From: Rumours (1977)

If there used to be an award for rock album with probably the most songs written concerning the band’s personal interpersonal issues, it will most probably be given to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. There may be quite a few songs penned about Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks‘ breakup, “2nd Hand Information,” “Cross Your Personal Approach” and “Goals,” every with their very own contact of bitterness combined with longing.

9. George Harrison, “Sue Me, Sue You Blues”
From: Residing within the Subject matter International (1973)

Like Fleetwood Mac above, George Harrison didn’t prevent at one track about his bandmates. In all probability probably the most pointed one arrived in 1973, “Sue Me, Sue You Blues,” which used to be impressed by means of the continuing criminal problems plaguing the previous Beatles on the time — together with Paul McCartney‘s lawsuit in opposition to Apple Corps — a truth Harrison used to be obviously bored with being thinking about. Years later in 1988, Harrison took every other retrospective take a look at issues with “When We Was once Fab.”

10. Graham Nash, “Wind at the Water”
From: Graham Nash David Crosby (1975)

Technically, Graham Nash David Crosby is a collaborative album, however “Frozen Smiles” used to be penned by means of Nash, and apparently sufficient, it wasn’t about Crosby, however their different bandmate Stephen Stills. “We had been giggling numerous the time,” Nash defined to UCR in 2022, “however there used to be one thing about Stephen’s smile that wasn’t relatively proper, and he’d been taking a huge quantity of gear. And I wrote this track ‘Frozen Smiles’ to my good friend Stephen.”

11. Jethro Tull, “A Tune for Jeffrey”
From: This Was once (1968)

It form of does not get extra direct than Jethro Tull’s “A Tune for Jeffrey,” written for Ian Anderson‘s good friend and long run Jethro Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond. A yr later, Anderson penned every other track that specialize in Hammond, who would not finally end up becoming a member of the band till 1971, “Jeffrey Is going to Leicester Sq..”

12. John Lennon, “How Do You Sleep?”
From: Consider (1971)

George Harrison used to be rarely the one ex-Beatle inspecting his previous within the early ’70s. John Lennon left little to the creativeness with “How Do You Sleep?” a track that took direct purpose at McCartney — “You reside with straights who inform you, you used to be king.” Their dating would no longer start to heal till round 1974.

13. Keith Richards, “You Do not Transfer Me”
From: Communicate Is Reasonable (1988)

Sure, the Rolling Stones are nonetheless in combination after over 60 years of being a rock band, however that unquestionably doesn’t suggest that’ve noticed eye to eye all of the time. There used to be a irritating length within the ’80s when Keith Richards and Mick Jagger didn’t get alongside, to place it mildly, and it got here throughout in Richards’ 1988 solo track “You Do not Transfer Me” — “Why do you assume you were given no buddies / You drove them across the bend.” Richards informed The New York Instances that yr that the track used to be “no longer as regards to him,” however indisputably did not deny it making use of to Jagger, and in truth defined that drummer Steve Jordan had informed him “When unsure, write about Mick.” (It hasn’t ever been showed, however next solo songs from Jagger like “Kow Tow” and “Shoot Your Mouth Off” had been imagined to be a reaction to Richards.)

14. The Kinks, “Two Sisters”
From: One thing Else by means of the Kinks (1967)

If there is something the Kinks had been professional at, it used to be growing characters of their songs that looked as if it would leap to existence. In “Two Sisters” although, Ray Davies merely reversed he and his brother Dave‘s genders and got here up with a track about themselves. “Dave made up for either one of us, he used to be the younger, fun-loving one,” Ray would later give an explanation for. “‘Two Sisters’ is relatively correct, within the sense that one had the entire freedoms — one brother remains in, and the opposite is going out and has enjoyable. And one resents the opposite for the facility to do it. However after all, glance what I have were given…”

15. Led Zeppelin, “Royal Orleans”
From: Presence (1976)

What occurs in New Orleans remains in New Orleans. Except you are Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant comes to a decision to write down some lyrics about your escapades there, which is what came about with “Royal Orleans,” a track that he wrote after his bandmate John Paul Jones fell asleep with a drag queen referred to as Whiskers. “He used to be somewhat homophobic in the ones days,” Jones later stated in 2001. “I believe it is simply ‘purpose [Plant and John Bonham] had a sheltered upbringing as lads.”

16. Lindsey Buckingham, “Fallacious”
From: Out of the Cradle (1992)

Clearly, Lindsey Buckingham felt it necessary to get immediately to the purpose with a identify like “Fallacious.” The topic in query used to be Mick Fleetwood‘s first memoir My Existence and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac, launched in 1990, which Buckingham it appears that evidently felt used to be feature of the drummer’s self-promotional taste. “I did not have numerous recognize,” Buckingham informed Stereogum in 2018. “I imply, I understood that it used to be out of a undeniable neediness, however concurrently a lot as I liked Mick…I could not love that a part of him.”

17. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “That Scent”
From: Boulevard Survivors (1977)

We all know that the rockstar way of life may also be considered one of extra, however every so often even your individual bandmates really feel the want to alert you (and themselves, too) that it isn’t all enjoyable and video games. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “That Scent” used to be necessarily a cautionary track written about the harmful affect of gear and alcohol at the band — there is even a line concerning the oak tree that Gary Rossington smashed his automotive into one night time in Florida.

18. The Mamas and the Papas, “Glance Thru My Window”
From: The Mamas and the Papas Ship (1967)

John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas had been married in 1962, however two years later went thru a length of separation. At the moment, John believed Michelle to be dwelling in California, however because it grew to become out, she used to be in truth living only some blocks clear of him in New York Town. (The couple divorced in 1969.)

19. Paul and Linda McCartney, “Too Many Folks”
From: Ram (1971)

“Too Many Folks” used to be reportedly the track that impressed Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?” and it isn’t tough to peer why with strains like “too many of us preaching practices.” “I felt John and Yoko [Ono] had been telling everybody what to do,” McCartney defined to Mojo in 2001. “And I felt we did not want to learn what to do. The entire tenor of the Beatles factor were, like, to every his personal. Freedom. All of sudden it used to be ‘You must do that.’ It used to be just a little the wagging finger, and I used to be annoyed with it. In order that one were given to be a factor about them.”

20. Pearl Jam, “Glorified G”
From: Vs. (1993)

To be transparent, Pearl Jam’s “Glorified G” is much less a couple of particular bandmate as it’s concerning the dialog that stated bandmate came about to encourage. In the future, whilst at paintings on their 1993 album Vs., drummer Dave Abbruzzese discussed that he’d not too long ago purchased two weapons, which brought on a dialog that Eddie Vedder controlled to develop into a whole track. “I by no means felt indignant or took any offense to the phrases as a result of I believed it used to be cool that Eddie used to be ready to take that dialog, and I admired the truth that it used to be an actual ingenious option to pen a lyric, to take notes of a dialog we had been all having about one thing,” Abbruzzese informed Songfacts in 2023. “After which he grew to become it into an anthem to the anti-gun, in a peculiar approach. It used to be tongue-in-cheek, more or less making enjoyable of gun possession.”

21. Crimson Floyd, “Shine On You Loopy Diamond”
From: Want You Had been Right here (1975)

Syd Barrett used to be just a member of Crimson Floyd for 3 years, however his presence and imaginative and prescient whilst within the band arguably affected them for the remainder of their life. After Barrett’s departure in 1968, Crimson Floyd penned the epic, nine-part composition “Shine On You Loopy Diamond” for Barrett — “You reached for the name of the game too quickly, you cried for the moon.” (The album’s identify monitor has additionally been interpreted as a tribute to Barrett.)

22. R.E.M., “Get Up”
From: Inexperienced (1988)

There may be all the time that one member of a band who may no longer be on time to avoid wasting their existence. In R.E.M., that used to be it seems that Mike Turbines. Turbines would ceaselessly sleep past due all over periods for 1988’s Inexperienced, so Michael Stipe did what any bandmate would do and wrote a track about it.

23. Ringo Starr, “Early 1970”
From: 1971 Unmarried

In the event you idea we forgot concerning the fourth Beatle in this record, assume once more. Ringo Starr additionally wrote about his former bandmates in “Early 1970,” describing McCartney’s idyllic farm existence, Lennon’s “laying in mattress” and Harrison as a “long-haired, cross-legged guitar picker.” “I stay taking a look round and considering the place are they? What are they doing? When will they arrive again and communicate to me?” Starr defined to Glance mag in 1970.

24. The Rolling Stones, “Shine a Gentle”
From: Exile on Major St. (1972)

The sorrowful factor concerning the Rolling Stones’ “Shine a Gentle” used to be that its matter, Brian Jones, used to be very a lot nonetheless alive when it used to be written, however useless by the point it used to be launched in 1972. The earliest variations of the track had been written in 1968, prior to Jones used to be let move from the band, and although the lyrics can be remodeled after his dying, the similar theme remained. It is laborious to observe a pal slip in the course of the cracks — “could not appear to get a line on you.”

25. Sammy Hagar, “Little White Lie”
From: Marching to Mars (1997)

It is comprehensible that within the yr following his departure (or imaginable firing, relying on whose facet of the tale you are being attentive to), from Van Halen, Sammy Hagar would nonetheless be wrestling with the way it all went down. He wrote so much about those emotions on 1997’s Marching to Mars in songs like “Little White Lie,” which Hagar penned after he used to be made conscious that Alex and Eddie Van Halen had been “speaking trash” about him on MTV.

26. Simon and Garfunkel, “The Best Residing Boy in New York”
From: Bridge Over Stricken Water (1970)

If you do not know your Simon & Garfunkel historical past, you could leave out the references Paul Simon makes in “The Best Residing Boy in New York,” which starts with a line a couple of guy named Tom getting on a flight to Mexico. This can be a connection with when the duo went by means of Tom and Jerry (Tom being Artwork Garfunkel) and to Garfunkel’s commute south of the border to behave within the 1970 movie Catch-22. Simon drew extra inspiration from his collaborator on “So Lengthy, Frank Lloyd Wright,” which used to be at the start meant to be written concerning the well-known architect, however wound up extra of a veiled track about Garfunkel, who had as soon as studied structure.

27. Supertramp, “Informal Conversations”
From: Breakfast in The united states (1979)

As they labored on what would grow to be their biggest-selling album, the participants of Supertramp had been every so often suffering to get alongside. Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies’ strained dating used to be in all probability no higher illustrated than in “Informal Conversations,” which talks about one individual making the opposite really feel so small “till there is not anything left in any respect.” “That track, for me, is deeply private,” Davies informed Melody Maker in 1979. “It may well clearly relate to other folks, in addition to boy-girl. I guess it is me and Roger to a point; me no longer having the ability to keep in touch with him, short of to get out every now and then.”

28. Tears for Fears, “Fish Out of Water”
From: Elemental (1993)

Tears for Fears break up up in 1991, however two years after that, Roland Orzabal would unencumber Elemental beneath the Tears for Fears identify. A monitor titled “Fish Out of Water” very obviously pointed to his frustration with Curt Smith: “You ain’t a clue who or what you might be.” “I believed it used to be relatively a laugh,” Smith later stated. “That used to be a track clearly written out of anger. I might left the band, he used to be annoyed, and honest sufficient.” (Smith himself would write a reaction together with his solo monitor “Solar King” in 1997.)