”‘Island’ is one of the songs that’s been in the back of our mind for years, and was considered for our Warner Bros album Pythons. We’ve always liked the chorus and the eerie, dream-like quality, but couldn’t fit the pieces together in the right way. When we started writing for our newest record: 1000 Palms, we decided to use the song in its very first incarnation, the version we preferred before any producers/ label people heard it and started moving things around. In hindsight, I’m glad we waited to record this song on our own terms.
I wrote the lyrics about coming home to my parents house after a long tour, I was sick with a fever and sleeping out on the couch. I woke up delirious and wandered into the kitchen where I got into a conversation with my father, I don’t remember what we were talking about exactly, but it was a very strange experience. I went and jotted down some lyrics afterwards, and didn’t look at them again until weeks later. It was just a few verses, but they ended up becoming the foundation of the song.”
The Fat Angel Sings 