Trouble (Cage the Elephant song)

"Trouble"
Single by Cage the Elephant
from the album Tell Me I'm Pretty
Released April 26, 2016
Recorded Spring 2015 at Easy Eye Sound, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre
Length 3:45
Label RCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Dan Auerbach
Cage the Elephant singles chronology
"Mess Around"
(2015)
"Trouble"
(2016)
"Cold Cold Cold"
(2017)
Music video
"Trouble" on YouTube

"Trouble" is a song by American alternative rock band Cage the Elephant, released as the second single from the band's fourth studio album Tell Me I'm Pretty on April 26, 2016. Produced and co-written by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, it topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in the United States, becoming the band's seventh overall chart-topper.

Background

Matt Shultz explained to ABC Radio that the song was inspired by a conversation he had with someone close to him. "We were both presenting ourselves as being very honest in the conversation. And I felt there were several places where I was holding back, or kind of curating the idea of what I wanted projected pretty heavily as inside the conversation. So I was curious at what level they were doing the same."

"So the song's kinda just about honesty and adversity and struggle and stuff like that," Shultz added.

Music video

The official music video for "Trouble" was released on April 21, 2016. The video combines the story of a western-style duel and its delusional results with shots of the band performing in the desert. It was filmed at the Joshua Tree National Park and it also marks Shultz' directorial debut.

Charts

The song was a hit on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, peaking at number one and staying on the chart for a total of 51 weeks. It was also a hit on the Adult Alternative Songs chart, peaking at four and charting for 28 weeks. The song also charted on several other charts, mainly charting in North America.

Weekly charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Canada Rock (Billboard) 9
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 12
US Rock Airplay (Billboard) 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2016) Position
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) 33
US Rock Airplay Songs (Billboard) 11
Chart (2017) Position
US Rock Airplay Songs (Billboard) 8

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United States April 26, 2016 Modern rock radio RCA Records

In media

  • It also plays at the end of season one, episode eleven of Bull and season one, episode two of Santa Clarita Diet.
  • In May 2023, the song was featured in an Amazon commercial where two brothers are bickering and their mother orders them space-themed tents for their beds to get them to stop their bickering.