Fallin'

Album: The Good Times and The Bad Ones (2020)
Charted: 37
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • After years of nonstop touring, Why Don't We took nine months off to rest and to write and produce their sophomore album. The COVID-19 pandemic extended the break, giving the LA-based boy band enough time to evolve their sound from soft-pop balladry to heavier, pop-rock territory. This song is the first single released from the project.
  • The song originated with a melody idea that dropped into Daniel Seavey's mind. The band was supposed to record a different song in the studio, but when he sang the melody for his bandmates, the group shifted their session to write and record "Fallin."

    "We wrote it in about an hour, which was the quickest we've ever written a song," Daniel told Radio.com's Julia. "It was freaky the way this song came out. It felt like we were just kind of like narrating somebody else's words. It came out so fast… I get chills just thinking about it."
  • Why Don't We were formerly known as a vocal group, but this song finds them playing all the instruments themselves. Zach Herron, Jack Avery and Corbyn Besson play the guitars, Jonah Marais the synth bass, and Daniel Seavey the drums.
  • Daniel Seavey, Corbyn Besson and Jonah Marais are the credited songwriters with Seavey also producing the song. Every tune on their debut album, 8 Letters, was entirely or partly penned by outside writers. "This song is the start of us showing the world who we really are and what we really can do," Seavey told Apple Music.
  • Lyrically, the song is about that adrenaline rush you get when you fall in love. Sometimes, the feeling can be so intense that time seems frozen when you're with your romantic interest.
  • The hardcore introduction samples the drums from Kanye West's Daft Punk-produced Yeezus track "Black Skinhead." Jonah Marais explained to Thomas Bleach:

    "When we were writing it we thought it would sound crazy with the type of drums from 'Black Skinhead,' and it fit so well! So in our wildest dreams we would just use the sample from that song, but then Kanye and Daft Punk were actually gracious enough to clear us using it. So that felt so cool and validating that they heard it and cleared the sample for us to use!"
  • If the song title sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of "Falling," a track from 8 Letters. Upon the release of "Fallin'," the track name was changed to "Can't You See" on streaming services.

Comments: 1

  • Dave from NowhereThe point that suggests they played the instruments is completely untrue. Doesn't take much of an ear to figure this out - there is only 2 guitar tracks in the song and more than one keyboard parts. Had all of them played they would have been all credited in production, and those outside of Why Don't We credited in production must have had some input to creating the track. A fan wrote that part.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Grateful Dead Characters

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?