In a recent interview with Sirius XM’s Feedback, host Lori Majewski asked Springfield about his new bluesy album The Snake King and whether “music is a balm when darkness is on your back?”
The singer then discussed the dark headspace that inspired his new music, mentioning his song “Suicide Manifesto” in particular and how close he came to committing suicide himself.
“Last year I was close to it, really close to it,” he said.
He also recounted how he reacted to music figures who have taken their own lives in the past couple of years, including Robin Williams, Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell: “I didn’t go, ‘Ugh, that’s terrible.’ I went, ‘I get it.’ I get being that lost and dark.’”
The 68-year-old has been suffering from depression since he was a teenager. In his 2011 autobiography, Late Late at Night, he talks about his history with the mental illness and his suicide attempt when he was 17.
On a more hopeful note, Springfield told Majewski that he is constantly taking steps to feel better: “Mediation is the only thing that takes me out of it. If I truly meditate and focus and get to that place, I’m not depressed. No matter what’s going on. But it’s pretty hard.”
Listen to the clip below.