September

Album: Leave This Town (2009)
Charted: 36
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This hushed ballad is the seventh track on American rock band Daughtry's second album, Leave This Town. Chris Daughtry penned it with guitarist Josh Steely.
  • The album's title comes from a line in this song, which draws on the singer's experiences growing up with his brother in the tiny North Carolina town of Lasker. Daughtry told Associated Content: "There's a line in the song that says we knew we had to leave this town, which stems from my childhood. I knew in order to do anything big with my life I would have to leave that town that I was in. It probably had a population of 100 or so."
  • Chris Daughtry explained in publicity materials that much of Leave This Town explores the different paths we take in our search for transcendence. Said Daughtry: "A lot of it is about how leaps of faith can set us free or tie us down, and how we often find heartache when we run from something and redemption when we run toward something."
  • Leave This Town debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. As Daughtry's self-titled debut album also topped the chart, they became the third group in the 21st century to arrive with a pair of #1s. Co-incidentally the other two acts before Daughtry to achieve this feat this century also start off with the letter "D." D12, featuring Eminem, and Danity Kane are the "D"s who'd previously done the debut double.
  • The bittersweet ballad's music video features Chris Daughtry playing live and looking back at his past with bandmates bassist Josh Paul, drummer Robin Diaz, and guitarists Brian Craddock and Josh Steely. The clip was shot July 1, 2010 at the Stevens Center of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.