California (The Way I Say I Love You)

Album: Generation Rx (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Good Charlotte vocalist Joel Madden married Nicole Richie in 2010; they had two children together: daughter Harlow and son Sparrow. They split their time between Los Angeles and Sydney.

    Madden told the BBC that this upbeat track, which concludes Good Charlotte's Generation Rx album, is a "love letter" to his two children. It's also an attempt to end the album up on a "hopeful" note, after talking on most of the album about inner struggles and the desire to kill the pain that's in all of us.

    "It stuck with me and [I thought] if there's going to be a message that I'm going to give up my kids," he said, "if you summed all this up and the pain of being a human, is there a positive ending?"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.