Travels
| "Travels" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Smashing Pumpkins | |
| Released | November 16, 2018 |
| Studio sessions | |
| Length | 5:23 |
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Corgan |
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin |
"Travels" is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins off of their 2018 studio album, Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
Billy Corgan has said the song was written sometime in 2017 and is about a former friend and their falling out. He wrote the song as he was coming down with a major flu.[1]
| “ | So I was in Los Angeles making this record with Rick Rubin, Shiny and Oh So Bright, James and Jimmy and Jeff.... ... And uh, I started feeling unwell. I didn’t realize that I was coming down with a vicious flu that would last a month, actually, it was horrible. But um, so I’m kind of half dead, tired from working and for some reason, I grabbed a guitar and started playing this song and it just came out in this mad rush so I literally wrote this song like.... And I would play it for you like that if I could. I can’t tilt the piano. So...kinda sums up my experience. And the backstory to this song was I was staying with a friend, a longtime friend, probably somebody I’d known for about 15 years. And because I got sick, she threw me out. It’s true, she threw me out of her house. Destroyed the friendship. So this song was the delineating point from one world to another. From heaven into hell. | ” |
| — Billy Corgan, 2019-11-09 | ||
The song originally was much more "busy", before producer Rick Rubin helped the band strip it down to the "soul of the song", something Corgan has expressed great gratitude for.[1]
Lyrics
The "see day from night" line is an apparent reference to the abandoned Day For Night album.[2]
See love, see time
See death, see life
See tears, see bright
See day from night
See pulse, see tomb
See breath, see moon
See sun, see stars
See God, see ours
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
See eyes, see shine
See seas, see mine
See shadows wind
See ripple, see blind
See you, see me
See destiny
See knots untied
See knots that bind
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
So run out where the thunder stuck
And star house-sized takes you up
And whirlpool light swirls you underneath
Rhapsodies sell a riptide fight
And panoramas of the sunset light
Yet Heaven's faithful servant's still your dream
See love, see time
See death, see life
See tears, see bright
See day from night
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
It's where I belong
But it's far from here, or else I'm gone
Availability
| Title | Notes | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. | Main release | Studio |
Tour stats
- Total plays: 25 plays, 4 acoustic, 13 piano, 2 artists
- First performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2018-11-28 at The Sylvee, Madison, WI, US
- Last performance: Billy Corgan 2024-10-24 at Madame ZuZu's, Highland Park, IL, US
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Corgan, Billy. "That Which Animates the Spirit". Thirty-Three (Podcast). Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ↑ Billy Corgan. December 2, 2020 Instagram Q&A