What's This Life For

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"What's This Life For"
Creed what's this life for.png
Single by Creed
from the album My Own Prison
ReleasedJune 9, 1998
Recorded1995, The Kitchen Studio, Tallahassee, Florida and Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida
Length
  • 4:08 (album version)
  • 3:30 (radio edit)
LabelWind-up
Songwriter(s)
Creed singles chronology
"Torn"
(1998) 		"What's This Life For"
(1998) 		"One"
(1998)
Music video
"What's This Life For" on YouTube

"What's This Life For" is a song by American rock band Creed. It is the third single and ninth track off their 1997 debut album, My Own Prison. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., becoming their first number one hit on this chart. It remained on top for six weeks.

Lyrics and music[]

Vocalist Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti wrote the song about one of their friends who had died by suicide. The lyrics deal with the difficulties in finding happiness and meaning in the world. In an interview with Songfacts Tremonti said: "It's a song about suicide and kids searching for that meaning of life. It's tough sometimes for kids in high school, junior high school, to go through a lot of the depression he went through that led him to commit suicide. So I wrote about that." The music and lyrics were written by Tremonti, while Stapp contributed the lyrics to the bridge portion of the song.[1] It is the only Creed song to use profanity. The first half of the word "goddamn" is censored on the shortened 2004 Greatest Hits album version.

Music video[]

Three music videos were made for the song and were all directed by Ramaa Mosley, who would also direct the video for the band's breakthrough single "Higher".[2] The official version of the video was filmed in southern Los Angeles near Joshua Tree National Park. Mosley, who had a fascination with weather, looked to capture the power and mystery of it by pitting "men against the forces of nature". Mosley said: "I had this tremendous fascination with weather and trying to capture this on film. Weather is very mysterious and powerful and I wanted to make a video that set men against the forces of nature. I wanted the video for Creed to feel that the music and the band had performed so passionately that a storm approached."[2] The video features the band performing the song in the desert plains along with scenes of various disaffected people trying to escape their lives. Each band member can be seen in each one of the scenes watching on as the alienated people struggle to cope with their discontent. As the band begins playing the song people can be seen wandering into the desert to join them. When the second chorus kicks in a sudden wind storm hits causing the desert sands to fly all around the band and the spectators. This effect was created using giant fans. During the bridge, the video shifts over to a nighttime setting. At this point the various people from each scene also begin to join the band in the desert where they all exult under a rain shower and falling snow. The rain effect was created using a rain machine while the snow was made using soap flakes.[2][3]

A second version was made for the film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. It features many of the same scenes from the official version and incorporates scenes from the film as well. However, this video also features the extended guitar intro of the Blue collar Records version of "What's This Life For" that was eventually cut from the Wind-up Records release.[3]

The third version is a live performance of the band from February 18, 1998 at Lee's Palace in Toronto. This is also the same show where the band filmed the music video for their previous single "Torn".[4]

Release and reception[]

Released on June 9, 1998, as the third single from My Own Prison, "What's This Life For" would peak at number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for six consecutive weeks from September 19, 1998 to October 24.[5] It was the band first number one song on the chart, and was eventually knocked off the top spot by "Psycho Circus" by Kiss on October 31.[6] The song also managed to reach the top ten on the Alternative Airplay chart and number six on the Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM) chart.

Appearances in media[]

The song appeared in the 1998 film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.[3] Creed also performed "What's This Life For" as the closing song to their setlist at Woodstock '99. Robby Krieger, guitarist of The Doors, also played the song with the band, as well as two cover songs of The Doors, "Riders on the Storm" and "Roadhouse Blues".[7]

Chart performance[]

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[8] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[9] 1
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10] 10

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Active Rock (Billboard)[11] 5
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 4
US Modern Rock (Billboard)[13] 31
Chart (1999) Peak
position
US Active Rock (Billboard)[14] 44
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[15] 33

References[]

  1. ^ Derrough, Leslie Michele (September 17, 2015). "Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge)". www.songfacts.com. Songfacts. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Wiser, Carl (November 23, 2015). "Ramaa Mosley". www.songfacts.com. Songfacts. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "What's This Life For". www.songfacts.com. Songfacts. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Shapiro, Marc (2000). Creed: From Zero to Platinum. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010, United States of America: St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 137. ISBN 9780312276379.CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ "Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  6. ^ "Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Creed Setlist". www.setlist.fm. Setlist.fm. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7913." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Creed Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "Creed Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "Most Played Active Rock" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 6 no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 35. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "Most Played Mainstream Rock Songs of 1998" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 6 no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 34. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Most Played Mainstream Rock Songs of 1998" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 6 no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 36. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "Most Played Active Rock" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 7 no. 52. December 24, 1999. p. 38. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  15. ^ "Most Played Mainstream Rock Songs of 1999" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 7 no. 52. December 24, 1999. p. 35. Retrieved August 20, 2021.


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