Songfacts®:

• Queensrÿche guitarist Chris Degarmo wrote or co-wrote all but one of the songs on Hear in the Now Frontier, including this one, which he composed himself. He explained to Screaming in Digital: "Hero is looking at the idea of a role model. It's not very concrete, I'm going to throw out a few words about it that are kind of ambiguous. It isn't a song that's easily summed up, I'm just kind of drifting. Drifting along in wordplay and soundscape. The idea in the chorus I'm talking about is feeling like a small piece in a big machine. The big machine being a metaphor for the whole framework of our western culture, driven by commerce, and the framework of corporations. The media presents us with role models within that machine, but now they're disposable. Whereas before, heroes could be long term companions, we have a fascination now with creating someone to hold up, to model ourselves after. But we have to be sure that we can tear them down, that they're capable of all the flaws of humanity. Those are some of the ideas going on in the song. It's a weird song."