Lifeline (Papa Roach song)
| "Lifeline" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Lifeline" is the second single from Papa Roach's sixth major-label album, Metamorphosis, and fourteenth single in total.
Background
Jacoby Shaddix told the story of the song in a video interview: "We were packing up our equipment. I was upstairs packing up my room and I heard this riff ringing up the hallway and it was like Damn! That's sick. So we went down there and jammed it out in about an hour, got the beef to the song, tweaked it in a bunch of different ways. It's a very uplifting song. Lyrically it's about progressing as a human being, as a spiritual being in this crazy fucked up world. It sounds clichéd as this band is my lifeline to humanity, its what connects me to the flow of life."[1] He also stated "We know right now America is crazy times. People are hurting. Sacramento, near where we are from, is the leading region for home foreclosures in America, so they are setting up tent cities and shit is going down. We want to send love to people going through hardships."[2] Shaddix reiterated this by saying that "Lifeline" is about "the tough economic times America is facing".[3]
Reception
"Lifeline" is Papa Roach's first song to top the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and remained there for six weeks. It also peaked on the Billboard Alternative Songs at #3. As of May 21, 2009, "Lifeline" has sold over 135,000 digital copies.[4] The song is available via download for the Rock Band games.[5] It is also included in the iPhone and iPod Touch game Tap Tap Revenge 2.[6]
Music video
The music video was released on March 6, 2009, was filmed in Long Beach, California and was directed by Chris Sims.
The video opens with a man leaving an industrial area with a box of items he just packed. As he enters his car we find out about an eviction notice and unpaid bills along with a cut to his wife and child. Various shots of the band playing (along with a solitary side shot of Shaddix) in front of the same industrial area the man was seen leaving are edited into the video. As he enters his car the image turns black and white and shows him being chased by an injured doppelgänger of himself. The injured man eventually calls out to the other during the "I'm never gonna fade away" section of the song and the running man stops, turns, faces him and they collide as the same man now back in his car drives past many homes with "For Lease" signs on them. He smiles however as his child and wife run towards him upon returning home.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lifeline" | 4:06 |
| 2. | "Getting Away with Murder" (Live & Murderous In Chicago) | 4:20 |
Charts
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 81 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Rock Songs | 5 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 95 |