She Wants Revenge Singled Out Week: Take The World

Take The World started in a much more traditional SWR type of writing style. Having already written a great deal of the album and realizing we didn't have much of a dance vibe going on as we did in the past, we agreed that we wanted something that would sound great in a club. Adam suggested the beat idea, which was paying homage to the Eric B. & Rakim song, "Paid In Full", which was also coincidentally a breakbeat that COUNTLESS other acts used in the 90's, so much so that no one except the most devoted b-boy knows where it originated from.

Once we played and programmed the beat we picked up our instruments, Adam played the bassline straight away, and I started playing the guitar part. After a few minutes of playing it, we came up with the change for the b-section and another section which was originally the chorus, however when singing it later I found it to be confusing and felt there were too many parts, so we cut it and simplified things, keeping it a pretty linear song with great changes that never really stray too far from the original groove. (I hate that word too).

Vocally this song was one of the hardest, and it really took me two or three versions (lyrics and melody) before Adam and I were both happy and felt it was there. Once we eliminated the original chorus progression things really took shape and became clear, at which point writing the lyrics and melody were easier. After several failed attempts, one day I was sitting in the studio singing along while playing acoustic guitar and I just started singing the chorus. Sometimes it takes weeks or months to eliminate all the things it isn't to find out what it is, and this was one of those cases. I immediately put down the acoustic, pushed rewind, hit record and sang it into the mic, and at that point not only was the chorus written and feeling special, but the narrative of the song and verses became clear as well.

To me this song was the anchor of the record and really had to be special. I always imagined it being the first song on the LP and to me it sets things up nicely, plus I love the innocence of the story of the couple and the sentiment. It's big and epic, soaring and hopeful in a way that is almost naive, but then again, that is pretty much how that sort of thing makes you feel - invincible.