Break In

Album: The Strange Case Of... (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Lzzy Hale explained the song's meaning to Artist Direct: "For me, it's about somebody special in my life," she said. "I'm extremely lucky to be surrounded by people who love me and take me for who I am - as well as all of the weird stuff that comes with me [Laughs]. I love that line, 'You let me fall apart without letting go.'. The people who surround me have let me do that. They let me make my mistakes, but they don't let go. It's a realistic look at love and what real love means to me."
  • The song is the only piano ballad on The Strange Case Of.... Lzzy told Artist Direct: "Putting piano on this record took me back to the beginning of Halestorm where piano was my primary instrument for the first few years of the band. There's an emotional thing that happens every time I perform that. It's very close to my heart."
  • A new version of the song featuring a guest appearance by Evanescence's Amy Lee can be found on the 2020 Halestorm Reimagined EP. Lee and Halestorm recorded the new interpretation in October 2019 at a Nashville studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who had previously worked with both bands. "We did it performance-style, literally next to each other in the same room - from beginning of song to end of song, singing with each other," Lzzy Hale recalled. "I've never done anything like that, but especially with a female singer of your prowess."

    The two frontwomen originally performed "Break In" together in 2012 during the "Carnival Of Madness" tour, which was headlined by Evanescence and featured Halestorm in the support slot.

    The pair later performed a quarantine rendition of the song in May 2020 on Hale's Internet show Raise Your Horns With Lzzy Hale.
  • Lzzy Hale originally wrote the song thinking about her on-off boyfriend, Halestorm guitarist Joe Hottinger. She told Amy Lee how the song's meaning changes when she sings it with her.

    "What I love about dueting on that song with you is that it started out as a love song that I wrote for my significant other but when we sing it together, it's this act of unity, especially with the two of us being women and being women musicians. It's like we have each other's backs. And the lyrics mean something completely different when I sing it [with you]."

Comments: 2

  • Dlkh223 from PaTo me it tells the danger of letting someone break the bricks we built around our hearts, another human can make us or break us, pick up the pieces and make us whole can be the most beautiful safe feeling, but it is dangerous. reckless to completely open your heart and let someone in who can become like a painful obsession falling apart with nothing left but the echo of his voice in your head. So I play this song over and over again coping with the broken mess, of the one that fit all the lines in the song….break in versus adding more bricks.
  • Daniel Knod from Gun Barrel City TexasI thought it was about God that's what I think of and my brother
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Weezer

WeezerFact or Fiction

Did Rivers Cuomo grow up on a commune? Why did they name their albums after colors? See how well you know your Weezer in this Fact or Fiction.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.