Noah Green wrote “Came Back Kicking” shortly after relocating from 13 years in LA’s Koreatown to the quiet foothill city of Sierra Madre. The Pretty Flowers’ new single opens with walking under black skies, wearing out terrain that “may have taken billions of years / But it had to happen sometime.” Green wanted something direct with room to breathe that “maybe in some other decade or dimension, could have been a hit on the radio,” inspired by Echo & the Bunnymen’s sweep and The Waterboys’ big music.
The Meaning Behind “Came Back Kicking”
The song operates on geological and personal timescales simultaneously. Green describes it as “accepting your place in the world and acknowledging the bones of history that are always beneath our feet,” which explains why someone getting sucked in for a better look and coming back kicking shares space with billions of years of terrain erosion. The narrator addresses someone who was “a reckless little shit / Selfish, secure and full of it,” admitting jealousy at the target’s confidence—”you the gunner gunning for it.”
The bridge captures transition through forced exit: “You had to offer your position / Just as time made its incision.” Not a decision, just walking away when circumstances demand it. The remotest parts where weight can cripple required self-destructing names “in a kind of operatic death scene.” The chorus offers two options—take it apart or blow it up—but insists, either way, don’t let it eat you up.
The LA band formed in 2013, and drummer Sean Johnson says their forthcoming album Never Felt Bitter (March 27 via Forge Again Records) emerged amid political unrest, fires, and ICE raids: “There’s urgency, fear, and confusion. Like this might be the last album.” Coming back kicking isn’t a triumphant return—it’s surviving what should have destroyed you and refusing to stay down.
If you’re looking for more songs about renewal, check out RH Pioneers’ “Growing Season.”
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