Dear Agony

Album: Dear Agony (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of alternative metal band Breaking Benjamin's fourth studio album.
  • In an interview with Weekender magazine, the comment was made that on Dear Agony, a lot of the lyrics have a common theme of slipping away or being left behind but with a twist of persevering. The interviewer asked frontman Ben Burnley if this ties in with what he's been going through. The singer replied: "Absolutely, it's personal to a certain degree because I write it and it has to come from somewhere. I want it to be known I've been suffering with some debilitating things for years, and it's become such an impedance on my life now that I can't help but have it come through in the music that I write. It does affect me in some ways on a performance level and on an availability level and things like that, so I'm kind of glad that it's finally coming to be known and that I can use the album as kind of a platform to let it be known, basically just trying myself to take a bad thing and make something useful out of it."
  • The album cover is an image of a scan of Burnley's brain. He explained to Weekender magazine: "It's just going along with these issues that I have to deal with. They're mainly, besides like chronic fatigue syndrome, there's a couple of neurological disorders that I have that stem from alcoholism. So that's kind of the whole on Dear Agony theme."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.

Dean Pitchford

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.