The One by Foo Fighters

Album: Orange County Soundtrack (2001)

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Songfacts®:

On an MTV special that aired in the UK, Dave Grohl said that this song was about the love that always eluded you, the girl (or boy) that you got close to having a relationship with but something or someone always got in the way. >>
Suggestion credit:
Dave - Glasgow, United Kingdom
This was featured in the movie Orange County.
The Foo Fighters made this available for download on their website before it was released. They premiered it at Los Angeles radio station KROQ's "Almost Acoustic" Christmas benefit concert on December 9, 2001.
The video was directed by Jesse Peretz, who also worked on the Foo Fighters' "Big Me" and "Learn To Fly."
Taylor Hawkins is not a fan of the track. "I've always hated this song," the Foo Fighters drummer told Kerrang!. "I hate the way it sounds, the production of it; it was a total cop out."

Hawkins added: "We were really trying to finish One By One. I liked the messed-up ugliness of that record, but we got asked by Tom Hanks' son Colin Hanks to do the song for this movie called Orange County. Dave wrote it, I wasn't crazy about it. It was straight-up pop – and there's nothing wrong with that – but we were still trying to figure out how to be the Foo Fighters."

Comments: 8

Kevin P. from 83001Don't really like the song but since I've seen the video now, I like the girl in video better;)
Taylor from Indianapolis, InThis is a great song, I don't know why but I can just relate to it...
Clay from Fredericksburg, VaI like the song. I hated the video.
I think this was the first song they released with Chris in the band (he'd been on tour with them previously) so I thought it was a harbinger of good things to come.
Dave from Essex, Englandapart from come back and all my life, this is one of my all time favourite songs
Tya from New South Wales, United Statesi luv this song cos it relates to everything in my life
and i dunno nething he makes i luv..
Steph from London, EnglandYeah, this is probably the worst Foo Fighters song (and it must be if I will say that, because they are my all time favourite band..) The video was still top quality though. I think it may have been one of those favour for a friend things as Jack Black was in the movie Orange County and they're mates... Meh!
Richard from St. Louis, MoI could have sworn Ive seen somewhere that Dave said something like:
before playing times like these he said it was one of the best songsd hed ever written. Then after that they played the one, where he said its one of the worst songs hed ever written.
Becky from Berkshire, Englandmy least favourite foo fighters song I'm afraid, it was inbetween albums and have proved themselves to be still on form with "one by one". It had a cute video though, Chris made a great dancer.

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