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

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of WayneSongwriter Interviews

The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."