"Lightning Crashes"
Artwork for European retail releases
Single by Live
from the album Throwing Copper
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1994
Genre
Length
  • 5:25 (album version)
  • 4:24 (edit)
LabelRadioactive
Songwriter(s)Live
Producer(s)
Live singles chronology
"I Alone"
(1994) 		"Lightning Crashes"
(1994) 		"All Over You"
(1994)

"Lightning Crashes" is a song by American rock band Live. It was released in September 1994 as the third single from their second studio album, Throwing Copper. Although the track was not released as a single in the United States, it received enough radio airplay to peak at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1995. The song also topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for 10 weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks. Internationally, the song reached No. 3 in Canada, No. 8 in Iceland, and No. 13 in Australia.

In 2021, Billboard ranked "Lightning Crashes" as the 70th-biggest hit in the history of the Mainstream Rock chart;[4][5] the same publication ranked the song as the 22nd-biggest hit in the history of Alternative Airplay two years later.[6][7]

Song meaning

The band dedicated the song to a high-school friend, Barbara Lewis, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993.[8] Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk said, "I wrote 'Lightning Crashes' on an acoustic guitar in my brother's bedroom shortly before I had moved out of my parents' house and gotten my first place of my own." Kowalczyk says that the video for "Lightning Crashes" has caused misinterpretations of the song's intent.

While the clip is shot in a home environment, I envisioned it taking place in a hospital, where all these simultaneous deaths and births are going on, one family mourning the loss of a woman while a screaming baby emerges from a young mother in another room. Nobody's dying in the act of childbirth, as some viewers think. What you're seeing is actually a happy ending based on a kind of transference of life.[9]

New York magazine described the band as "deeply mystical" and claimed that the song was, "The story of a...connection between an old lady dying and a new mother at the moment of giving birth."[10][11] Just a few years before, Kowalczyk discovered the writings of Indian spiritualist Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose philosophy of living life from a place of selflessness and humility influenced the singer’s songwriting process, as well as the band’s creative philosophy.[12]

Composition

The song is written in the key of C major but recorded a half step lower in B major.[13]

Track listings

All songs were written by Live.

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Lightning Crashes"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States September 24, 1994 Radio Radioactive [citation needed]
Australia June 26, 1995 CD [20]
Europe
  • CD
  • maxi-CD
United Kingdom January 2, 1996 CD

In popular culture

"Lightning Crashes" was used at the end of episode 3 of Strange Luck, "Last Chance"[36] It was also used at the beginning of the season 4 finale of One Tree Hill.[37], as well as the Yellowjackets (TV series) episode "Burial"[38] It was featured in the 2017 film Kodachrome and is included as a track on its soundtrack album.[39]

References

  1. ^ "100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994". Spin. August 18, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Erickson, Anne (February 21, 2015). "Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk celebrates 'Throwing Copper'". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Waldman, Scott (April 3, 2020). "10 Best Pop-Rock Songs of the '90s". Loudwire. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Johnson, Josh (June 3, 2021). "Shinedown named number-one artist on 'Billboard's' 40th anniversary Mainstream Rock chart". ABC Audio. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (September 7, 2023). "Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  7. ^ "Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "Lightning Crashes by Live". Songfacts. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Scarisbrick,John. "Lightning Strikes." Spin Magazine, June 1995, p. 52.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". live.cerf.net. Archived from the original on April 25, 1998. Retrieved February 27, 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ Michael Hirschorn (September 1995), "[music]", New York, p. 35
  12. ^ Healy, Ryan (September 24, 2021). "'Lightning Crashes': The Story Behind Live's Meditation on the Cycle of Life". UDiscover Music. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  13. ^ Live "Lightning Crashes" Sheet Music musicnotes.com
  14. ^ Lightning Crashes (Australian CD single liner notes). Live. Radioactive Records. 1995. RADS33257.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Lightning Crashes (European CD single liner notes). Live. Radioactive Records. 1995. rad 33574.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Lightning Crashes (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Live. Radioactive Records. 1995. rad 33573.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Lightning Crashes (UK CD1 liner notes). Live. Radioactive Records. 1995. RAXTD 23.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Lightning Crashes (UK CD2 liner notes). Live. Radioactive Records. 1995. RAXXD 23.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Lightning Crashes (UK cassette single sleeve). Live. Radioactive Records. 1995. RAXC 23.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ a b "Live – Lightning Crashes". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9008." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (25.6. '95 – 1.7. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). June 24, 1995. p. 26. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  23. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 2, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  26. ^ "Live Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  27. ^ "Live Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  28. ^ "Live Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  29. ^ "Live Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  30. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1995". ARIA. Retrieved August 13, 2016 – via Imgur.
  31. ^ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved May 1, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  32. ^ "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1996. p. 25. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  33. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot 100 Singles Airplay" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. Y-32. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  34. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. Y-76.
  35. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. Y-77.
  36. ^ "Strange Luck - Lightning Crashes - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  37. ^ "One Tree Hill Music – www.oth-music.com". www.oth-music.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  38. ^ "'Yellowjackets' Season 2 Soundtrack". www.menshealth.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  39. ^ "Kodachrome (Music From The Netflix Original Film". spotify.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.

External links

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