I'm Alive

Album: The Constant (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the first single from American rock band Story of the Year's fourth album, The Constant.
  • Frontman Dan Marsala told AntiMusic about the tune: "'I'm Alive' was actually one of the last songs written for The Constant. We thought we were pretty much done writing for the record and then one day Ryan and Josh were jamming in the rehearsal space and the whole idea for the song came together in like 45 minutes. Later that day we made a quick demo and I started working on melodies and lyrics. The chorus lyrics jumped out at me right away. I was driving around in my car listening to it and I immediately started singing 'I'm alive, but I'm barely breathing now.' After writing the chorus, the hardest part was figuring out what direction to take the song. I didn't finish the lyrics until about a month later while we were in the studio. I decided to write it about being buried by the weight of the world and wishing there was anything you could do to dig your way out of that feeling. A situation that I've been through many times. It's a very personal song, but I think anyone can relate to feeling that way. It ended up being everyone's favorite song on the record, so we're lucky that we had those last couple jam sessions before we decided we were done writing. That seems to be how it always works."
  • Marsala explained in publicity materials that the album title symbolizes Story of the Year's work ethic and commitment to both themselves and their fans. "Music is the constant thing in life for us," he explained. "When I go to bed I think about music and when I wake up it's the first thing on my mind. The Constant can mean anything; hopefully our band will go on forever and we want music to remain a constant thing in our lives no matter what."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-Nighters

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-NightersSong Writing

These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."