"45" is a song by American rock band Shinedown. The song was released on July 13, 2003, on the album Leave a Whisper. Following the album's release, "45" became a popular single. An acoustic cover of "45" was featured on the album's re-release on June 15, 2004.
Brent Smith (the lead singer and songwriter) has stated in an interview:
The inspiration from the song really came from – I think a lot of people kinda take a literal sense because of the lyrics – but the song is basically about the day that you wake up and you look at yourself in the mirror and you finally decide that you want to try to become comfortable in your own skin, and realize that you’re gonna have to make yourself happy before you’re going to make anyone else happy. And basically, the 45 isn’t an actual literal term for a gun, I used it as a metaphor for the world, the .45 is actually the world and what it hands you every day of your life. When you get up, it’s a gift to be alive to begin with. A lot of different people, when I’ve talked about it, they said, “Do you really honestly mean that?” And I’m like, “Well, yeah.” Because I’ve been in that situation where I didn’t know if I wanted to continue going on and I didn’t know how to necessarily make myself comfortable with who I was, trying to find a way of learning more about myself. And you come from a dark place sometimes, and that’s really the reality of the song. It’s about overcoming and about moving forward. And it’s basically about understanding that it’s not always going to be good, but you really have no one to blame for yourself if you don’t move forward. That’s where the whole, “Nobody knows what I believe,” [comes from] because we’re all individuals. So that’s really where it comes from, it’s about moving on, really.[2]
Music video and controversy
The band requested that the music video for "45" be removed from MTV broadcast[3] because the lyrics "the barrel of a .45" and "ashes of another life" were removed from the chorus and the title card of the video referred to the song by the MTV-originated title "Staring Down..." Singer Brent Smith felt the editing blurred the message of the song and MTV was hypocritical since they had played other unedited videos. Smith believed that if they did not wish to play the song as it was written, they should never have broadcast it. Though the edited version of the video was aired a few times without the artists' consent, the song was eventually pulled from the airwaves. MTV had broadcast without editing, in heavy rotation and during daytime hours, Depeche Mode's 1997 music video for the song "Barrel of a Gun". It was never censored on other music video channels or radio although it had in the chorus, "I've been staring down the barrel of a gun"; it caused no controversy and MTV had no concern.[citation needed]
shinedown, song, song, american, rock, band, shinedown, song, released, july, 2003, album, leave, whisper, following, album, release, became, popular, single, acoustic, cover, featured, album, release, june, 2004, single, shinedownfrom, album, leave, whisperre. 45 is a song by American rock band Shinedown The song was released on July 13 2003 on the album Leave a Whisper Following the album s release 45 became a popular single An acoustic cover of 45 was featured on the album s re release on June 15 2004 45 Single by Shinedownfrom the album Leave a WhisperReleasedJuly 29 2003Recorded2002GenreHard rock 1 alternative rock post grungeLength4 09LabelAtlanticSongwriter s Brent Smith Tony BattagliaProducer s Tony BattagliaShinedown singles chronology Fly from the Inside 2003 45 2003 Simple Man 2004 45 placed twelfth among U S Modern Rock and third among U S Mainstream Rock songs after its release Contents 1 Background 2 Music video and controversy 3 Charts 4 Certifications 5 ReferencesBackground EditBrent Smith the lead singer and songwriter has stated in an interview The inspiration from the song really came from I think a lot of people kinda take a literal sense because of the lyrics but the song is basically about the day that you wake up and you look at yourself in the mirror and you finally decide that you want to try to become comfortable in your own skin and realize that you re gonna have to make yourself happy before you re going to make anyone else happy And basically the 45 isn t an actual literal term for a gun I used it as a metaphor for the world the 45 is actually the world and what it hands you every day of your life When you get up it s a gift to be alive to begin with A lot of different people when I ve talked about it they said Do you really honestly mean that And I m like Well yeah Because I ve been in that situation where I didn t know if I wanted to continue going on and I didn t know how to necessarily make myself comfortable with who I was trying to find a way of learning more about myself And you come from a dark place sometimes and that s really the reality of the song It s about overcoming and about moving forward And it s basically about understanding that it s not always going to be good but you really have no one to blame for yourself if you don t move forward That s where the whole Nobody knows what I believe comes from because we re all individuals So that s really where it comes from it s about moving on really 2 Music video and controversy EditThe band requested that the music video for 45 be removed from MTV broadcast 3 because the lyrics the barrel of a 45 and ashes of another life were removed from the chorus and the title card of the video referred to the song by the MTV originated title Staring Down Singer Brent Smith felt the editing blurred the message of the song and MTV was hypocritical since they had played other unedited videos Smith believed that if they did not wish to play the song as it was written they should never have broadcast it Though the edited version of the video was aired a few times without the artists consent the song was eventually pulled from the airwaves MTV had broadcast without editing in heavy rotation and during daytime hours Depeche Mode s 1997 music video for the song Barrel of a Gun It was never censored on other music video channels or radio although it had in the chorus I ve been staring down the barrel of a gun it caused no controversy and MTV had no concern citation needed Charts EditChart 2004 PeakpositionUS Alternative Airplay Billboard 4 12US Mainstream Rock Billboard 5 3Certifications EditRegion Certification Certified units salesUnited States RIAA 6 Platinum 1 000 000 Sales streaming figures based on certification alone References Edit 10 Best Shinedown Songs Loudwire FoundryMusic Com Interviews INTERVIEW WITH BRENT SMITH OF SHINEDOWN Brent Smith of Shinedown Archived from the original on 2009 01 05 Retrieved 2009 05 24 Shinedown Chart History Alternative Airplay Billboard Retrieved August 18 2020 Shinedown Chart History Mainstream Rock Billboard Retrieved August 18 2020 American single certifications Shinedown 45 Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved June 23 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 45 Shinedown song amp oldid 1130480310, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
