Surrender

Album: Lighting Up The Sky (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Godsmack singer Sully Erna can't take any more of his lover's toxic behavior. They are continually at each other's throats and the singer lays all the blame on her for the poison in their union. He's already cast his feelings aside and humbled himself, and he pleads she does the same too. He tells her she needs to "surrender" for the sake of their relationship, otherwise he'll have to separate.

    "'Surrender" is about "the exhaustion we can all feel in relationships at times from the redundancy of fighting with each other," explained Erna. "At a certain point in our lives, we submit to putting aside who's right or wrong, we just want it to STOP! So we wave the white flag."
  • Godsmack recorded "Surrender" for Lighting Up the Sky. The Massachusetts band dropped it as the album's lead single on September 28, 2022.

    Erna said in an interview coinciding with the song's release that Lighting Up The Sky would be their last body of work but Godsmack won't be retiring from performing or touring.
  • Erna wrote "Surrender" with the Los Angeles-based producer Erik Ron. Erna and Ron co-produced all the tracks of Godsmack's previous album, When Legends Arise.
  • Ugly Kid Joe guitarist Dave Fortman produced the track. His production resumé also includes both of Evanescence's multi-platinum selling albums, The Open Door and Fallen, and Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone.
  • Godsmack racked up their fifth consecutive Mainstream Rock Airplay #1 when "Surrender" climbed to the top of the November 12, 2022-dated chart. It followed "When Legends Rise," "Bulletproof," "Under Your Scars" and "Unforgettable." It was the 12th #1 in total on the Billboard survey for the band.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.