Roots

Album: Single release only (2015)
Charted: 77
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This stand-alone single was written on the road by Imagine Dragons during their Smoke + Mirrors Tour. It finds Dan Reynolds singing about the dichotomy of the band's lives as musicians. "It's a song about embracing the culture you were raised in, embracing the things that make you who you are," Reynolds told Radio.com. "It's real easy, especially when you're traveling around the world, to kinda get lost, and what keeps me grounded is my family and my roots."

    Dedicated by the group to the support they've received from their huge fanbase, it was released on digital retailers on August 27, 2015.
  • Imagine Dragons experimented with different sounds on Smoke + Mirrors, and this song featuring a distorted drum beat over a prominent piano riff continues this trend of experimentation.
  • To promote the single, Imagine Dragons shared a collage on social media featuring childhood pictures of the band members as well as fan submitted photographs.
  • Imagine Dragons performed the song for the first time on September 2, 2015 during their Melbourne, Australia show.
  • The song's music video reflects the ups and downs of life on the road. The clip starts with Imagine Dragons wrapping up a live performance, before we see Dan Reynolds fall into a feverous dream. "We wanted to show the honest truth of it, there are plenty of nights that are amazing, times that we're overjoyed," said the singer, "but there's also nights when you go home to the hotel room for three months in a row and I miss my three-year-old daughter who's back home in the states."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?

Billy Gould of Faith No More

Billy Gould of Faith No MoreSongwriter Interviews

Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.