Not Broken Anymore

Album: Sway (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from Blue October's seventh studio album, Sway. Frontman Justin Furstenfeld penned the record in an upbeat frame of mind after years of struggling with a crippling alcohol addiction and marital problems. "Sway is about trying to find solutions to problems instead of dwelling in the problems," Furstenfeld told Radio.com. "It's about recognizing that you have to be proactive with your life if you really want to make it through to the other side and enjoy it."
  • Furstenfeld considers this emotional ballad to be the most personal tune on Sway. "That's the first song I attempted to tackle when I found this new way of life," he told Radio.com. "It means so much to me because I wrote it for my wife, what she did for me and all the things she empowered me with."

    "I didn't want to write complex songs anymore," continued Furstenfeld. "Not on this album, at least. I wanted to write songs you could get after one listen. It wasn't about how sad I am, it wasn't about how much turmoil I was in. It's just giving thanks. So when I hear ('Not Broken Anymore'), it just makes me remember all of the things I put my wife through and how she still stood up to me."
  • This was played as the final song each night on Furstenfeld's solo Open Book tour in April and May of 2013.
  • Furstenfeld told Artist Direct the story behind the song: "When we started touring for Any Man in America, I didn't see any change in the legal system," he said. "I thought by putting an album out about it, people would see and things would change! It didn't turn out that way. It just got worse. I still couldn't see my daughter. It felt like I was beating a dead horse. I began drinking and use again pretty heavily to the point where my wife looked at me and said, 'You know what? You've turned into a complete hypocrite. You're out there singing about how you want to be a good father but you can't go an hour without drinking.' She said, 'Nobody grieves this way. You need to clean your s--t up or I'm going to leave you!' So I cleaned myself up."

    "Today, I live a sober life," he continued, "which is blessed and amazing, but I couldn't have done it without her. This band would not be around anymore if she weren't in my life. I was so far off the deep end of drugs and alcohol that it was just awful. When I got clean, I needed to say, 'Thank you.' That song was her birthday and anniversary gift. I worked the hardest on that song. It's simple and gorgeous."
  • The similarly titled "Still Broken" was originally recorded by Furstenfeld's first band, Last Wish, and released on their 1995 album The First of February.

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