The Circle Married The Line

Toronto resident Feist penned most of the lyrics Metals in the fall of 2010. She then headed to Big Sur, on the Californian coast and set up an ad hoc recording studio to record the album. Feist rented a cottage nearby, and each morning walked along a ridge overlooking the ocean to the studio. "My commute to work was with my backpack filled with my laptop, journals, and whatever books I was reading," she told Spin magazine. "I'd tromp along the cliffs between wild cows as condors circled overhead. Some days were stunning and gorgeous; on others the clouds were so thick you couldn't see 10 feet."

Feist's morning walks inspired one of the verses for this geometric love song: "All I want is a horizon line / Get some clarity, following the signs / Get some clear ocean signs."
"It was the only lyric that I wrote there," she explained to Spin magazine. "I added it because I really was getting serious clarity walking across the cliffs every morning."

Feist brought in Beck's keyboardist and musical director, Brian LeBarton to help with the song's arrangement.