Wide Awake

Album: Revelations (2006)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about the reaction to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. The band criticizes the government for a slow reaction and avoiding the problem (hence the line, "Pull the sheet over my eyes, so I can sleep tonight"). In the bonus DVD that came with the Revelations CD, guitarist Tom Morello describes this as "A song of fingerpointing," while bassist Tim Commerford overtly says, "It's a song about President Bush, and what an a--hole he is."
  • This was the first politically themed Audioslave song. When the supergroup first formed, Chris Cornell said he did not want it to be a political band like the rest of the band's old group, Rage Against the Machine.
  • This song was featured in the 2007 film remake of Miami Vice. Cornell often introduces this song at his solo concerts with: "I don't know how, but this song somehow ended up in Miami Vice, a movie that nobody saw. But if you watch the movie, it plays at the scene where the guy is f--king the girl." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bert - Pueblo, NM, for above 3

Comments: 3

  • Shanan from Huron, SdThis is probably my favorite song. I feel i relate to it personally and i get goosebumps whenever i listen to it. If you have not heard it then you are missing out.
  • Ef from Newaygo, MiOne of my favorite Audioslave songs. I've bled Audioslave since their first album came out, and this ranks in my top 5. Gives me the chills whenever I listen to it. Lyrics are just so great, as with most every song Chris Cornell has written.
  • Adrian from Brookings, SdIt's a shame the band had to break up just when they started to make really meaningful and large scale statements to a mass audience. I think that was one of the great things about Rage Against the Machine.
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