Livin' In The Gray

Album: 1000hp (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was written as a group effort by the whole band. Godsmack bassist Robbie Merrill told Lithium Magazine about the songwriting process for 1000hp. "We would send stuff to Sully, (Erna, vocals), and he likes what he likes, and takes stuff out and re-arranges it," he explained. "There are some songs where he took a part from one and put it into another thing. And it's the same with the stuff that he has been working on. We will all get together in a room and pull all the pieces together, change things up and try to make them the best songs possible."

    "For 1000hp, we came up with the best songs musically and then Sully will start putting the lyrics to them," Merrill added. "We work all that stuff out and pretty soon we have them down to the point where we can head right into the studio and record them and still have that energy and intensity in place."
  • Drummer Shannon Larkin told Artist Direct the story of this song: "That was great. It was pretty close to the original way it was written," he said. "There were a couple of drum changes Sully made. For instance, I'd be hitting the hi-hat on the one of every drum fill in the chorus. He was like, 'That's a little tedious. Do the first half without hitting the hi-hat. Just play the tom and add the hi-hat on the second series of fills and second half of the chorus.' It made everything climax well in the end bleeding into the second verse."

    "It really was a group effort," Larkin added. "It was the most 'group effort' we've ever done as a band. Everybody was involved."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.