"Rut" is a song by American rock band

the Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drum ...

from their fifth studio album, '' Wonderful Wonderful'' (2017). It was serviced to UK

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

radio on December 9, 2017, as the album's third and final single. The accompanying music video, directed by Danny Drysdale, was released on January 9, 2018, and depicts a woman who suffers from loneliness and depression at several points in her life, from childhood to adulthood. The single peaked at number 10 on the New Zealand Heatseeker Singles chart.

Composition

In an episode of the ''

Song Exploder ''Song Exploder'' is a music podcast created by Hrishikesh Hirway, who hosted it from its 2014 inception until late 2018 and again from December 2019 onwards. In January 2019, Thao Nguyen became a guest host for the year, with Christian Koons ser ...

'' podcast on October 6, 2017,

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his ...

explained that the lyrics of "Rut" were inspired by his wife, Tana Mundkowsky, who struggles with

posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

(PTSD) due to a traumatizing childhood. "The song is from my wife's point of view, and it's from her perspective. And it's about resilience. So, she's singing to me. It's almost like this submission, it's her accepting like, 'I'm facing this thing'", Flowers said. The pitch on Flowers' vocals was altered to make his voice sound more feminine.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' Wonderful Wonderful''.

Recording locations

* Recorded at 11th Street Records (Las Vegas, Nevada), The Garage (

Topanga, California Topanga () ( Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow ...

), and Battle Born Studios (Las Vegas, Nevada) * Mixed at Assault & Battery Studio 1 (London) * Mastered at

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(London)

Personnel

The Killers *

– vocals, keys *

Dave Keuning David Brent Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is an American musician, best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the rock band The Killers, which he founded alongside Brandon Flowers in 2001 and with whom he has recorded six studio albums. K ...

– guitar *

Mark Stoermer Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer h ...

–

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

* Ronnie Vannucci Jr. – drums Additional personnel *

Jacknife Lee Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Dire ...

– production, engineering, guitar, keys, programming * Matt Bishop – engineering * Robert Root – engineering * Malcolm Harrison – engineering assistance *

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music ...

– mixing * Caesar Edmunds – mix engineering * Becca Marie – additional vocals * Las Vegas Mass Choir – additional vocals * Nina Fechner – additional vocals * Justin Diaz – additional vocals * John Davis – mastering

Charts

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rut (The Killers song), The 2010s ballads 2017 singles 2017 songs Island Records singles The Killers songs Song recordings produced by Jacknife Lee Songs written by Brandon Flowers Songs written by Dave Keuning Songs written by Jacknife Lee Songs written by Mark Stoermer Songs written by Ronnie Vannucci Jr.