Ba55

Album: Fading West (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Switchfoot are all keen surfers and derive their name from a surfing stance. Their vocalist Jon Foreman told us: "When I'm happy, when I'm enjoying life, I'm home, I'm surfing."
  • This song finds Foreman singing of riding some waves:

    "I watch the white lines fly
    Nothing between us here but the black blue sky
    Suspended up in the air, like a still life."

    Foreman said: "My wife says that surfing is like a form of baptism for me, that my time in the saltwater washes me clean. Often I come back from surfing ready for life in ways that I wasn't before: quicker to laugh, slower to get angry, more eager to help. The ocean puts me in my place- a finite creature humbled by the seemingly infinite expanse of ocean before me."

    He added: "The refining experiences of life are not only found in the water. At times it feels like a trial by fire- almost as though the impurities are melted away so that the soul can shine from beneath. The lyrical inspiration for 'Ba55' was that refining fire. The experience will leave you humbled, maybe even broken. But there everything is different on the other side- there's a new found purpose, a deeper understanding of life." (Source: Land Of Broken Hearts)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")Songwriter Interviews

Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.