Song On Fire

Album: Feed The Machine (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger sings about the struggle to express what he wants to say when writing a song to a former lover that he still has feelings for. He explained how all the band members connected to the track on different levels through their own differing experiences.

    "Everyone has a need to love or be loved and we've all been hurt or felt loss," Kroeger said. "It's about your heart yearning for something that your rational mind knows is impossible to hold on to. There is a universally, haunting finality to losing love and we found 'our protagonist' (in this song) trying to reclaim it; but not knowing where to begin or that it might ultimately be in vain."
  • Many fans have speculated that Chad Kroeger wrote the song about his breakup with his former wife Avril Lavigne.
  • The song's music video was directed by frequent collaborator Nigel Dick ("Photograph," "Too Bad," "Savin' Me") and filmed in the plush forests of the Vancouver area. The clip features a lost woman running through the woods interspersed throughout with footage of the band performing. The woods serve as a metaphor for the woman's struggle to find herself as well as her way back home.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock!

Yacht Rock!Song Writing

A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.