Rise Above This

Album: Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces (2007)
Charted: 91
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Songfacts®:

  • Seether frontman Shaun Morgan wrote this enduring song about his late brother Eugene before his tragic death in August 2007. Eugene committed suicide by jumping from the window of the Radisson Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota. Morgan explained on his band's website: "I used to think more about what the fans thought, but ultimately I wound up stunting myself creatively. The point of being a musician and writing music and being in a band is that I can write an optimistic-feeling, accessible song if I want. Even though it wasn't written about an optimistic experience, I opted to see a positive in the situation. Rather than my usual reaction, which would be to get all piss-y and moan-y about it."
  • In a Songfacts interview with Shaun Morgan, he said this song was written slightly before his brother's suicide. "It was about an attempt that he had made on his own life," Morgan explained. "The idea was to write a song that if I could play it to him, that it would make him feel better. And unfortunately I never got a chance to play it for him. So it was written just before, like a couple of weeks prior to him dying."

    When we asked Shaun if he thought his brother might really take his own life, he replied: "I never thought that it was a serious attempt. I thought the first time that it was an accidental thing. So I don't think that I, in my mind, thought that it was something that would be repeated. I didn't at all think that he was serious about it. I just wanted to write something to let him know that I cared about him."
  • In 2012, Seether organized and headlined the Rise Above Fest, which took place September 3 in Gilford, New Hampshire. The festival, which also featured Buckcherry and Puddle of Mudd, raised money for the National Alliance of Mental Illness and helped bring the issue of suicide and depression - especially among young people - to the forefront.

    Morgan isn't the only band member affected by suicide - drummer John Humphrey's wife worked in a church where three kids took their own lives. The song, and the festival are the band's way of sparking the discussion, as they're not comfortable preaching on the issue and are more likely to get the message through with their music. "I wanted something to live on," Morgan told us. "There's a tragedy, but I wanted at least to have his death mean something. So we started the festival and we had a great turnout and there was a lot of great stories from people. And so it was a pretty great day."
  • The song's video deals with the tragedy of suicide by showing the effects a young man's death has on his surviving family members, ending with the number of the US National Suicide Helpline and a photo of Eugene. Morgan told Kerrang! magazine July 19, 2008: "I'm so proud of the video and the song's success. It's a brutal experience when you lose somebody like that, but you have to find a positive in everything. I hope this makes some kids realize the choices they make can crush a family and devastate the people they leave behind."
  • The riff came from Shaun Morgan trying to see if he could write something similar to "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins. He remembered listening to "1979" as a teenager in South Africa when some of his friends got their first cars and drove around with the windows down.

    "You almost feel like low-key badass because you think you're in this car, driving down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) in California, but really were just a couple of kids in a car driving in Pretoria," Morgan recalled to American Songwriter. "I was trying to recreate that feeling because I was kind of down and miserable, to be honest. I was trying to cheer myself up."

Comments: 15

  • Drew Peters from Beech Creek PaBest song ever
  • Tiffany from Lashea Love seether! Such a inspiration to every walk in life. Especially close to my heart with this song.
  • James from Milton, Delaware Does anyone know what movie of the week, that "Rise Above This" was in, with also a Pop Evil song? I believe 2008...?
  • Sidney from Pretoria South AfricaYou all know bits of the story. Eugene tried to commit suicide but failed. Shaun then wrote the song to encourage Eugene to Rise Above It. But Eugene jumped out the hotel window before Shaun ever got to play it to him.
  • Lynne from Williamsburg, VaI read that Shaun changed his name because no one could ever pronounce it correctly! I know I wasn't! So he used his middle name. The song Rise Above It I believe was dedicated to Eugene but I think it was already written. It's an awesome video. I love it and wish lots of people would see it... not just Seether-type fans. Such an important idea- what would happen to the family when someone in the family commits suicide. I know the new song "Pass Slowly " is about his brother. There's a better answer than suicide.
  • Scott from Brooking, SdI actually saw seether the night this happened. i heard that they stopped the production of "finding beauty in negative spaces" to write the song like suicide about him.
  • Jessica from Uvalde, TxYes, the song was written before Eugene killed himself but Shaun has said that he had him in mind when it was written. So even though he killed himself after the song was written and on the album, it's still Eugene's song.
  • Joel from Victoria, Capetown, South AfricaAgain I can relate. My sister killed herself with an overdose of sleeping pills after getting out of an abusive relationship. The trauma messed me up so badly that I delevloped a drinking problem and some other mental problems. I've stopped the booze but it still hurts everytime I'm reminded of the situation. This was when we were living in Australia for several months.
  • Niko from Petteyville, Nyi love this song, i didnt know what song was about till i saw the video and i looked in to it and its very sad to hear how his brother passed
  • Tommy from Cape Town, South AfricaShawn never wrote the song about his brother, he only dedicated it to him. the song was already written before Eugene Committed suicide.
  • Berto from Northport, Flthis song is about shaun morgans brother eugene, who committed suicide, but it always reminds me of a girlfriend who i haven't spoken to or seen in a while. awesome song, very sad, but awesome.
  • Michael from Johannesburg, South AfricaI'm proud to say that Seether is originly from South Africa, which is where I live! Sean Morgan's real surname is 'Welgemoed'. Rumor has it that he was forced to change it when his mother disowned him for his adictions and 'alternative' lifestyle. Seether was originlly called "Saron Gas" before they left SA for The US
  • Samir from New York, NyAs soon as the album was released, n i listened to it for the very first time, i knew that Rise Above This is gonna be the best single by this album!! ... n when they made the video, i was the happiest to know it!! but so down after watching it!! ... great song!! salute to seether!!
  • Caitlyn from Naples, Flthis song is so sad. so is the video
  • Jennifer from North Plainfield, NjThis is a great song. The first time I heard it I loved it and I didn't even know the background (Shaun Morgan's brother who died). Pretty without being a ballad.
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