Fault Line by Silverchair

Album: Frogstomp (1995)

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The Silverchair boys grew up in Newcasle, NSW, Australia. That town is built right on top of a fault line. This means Newcastle experiences several earthquakes a year. During a particularly destructive one, a young boy was trapped in a collapsing building and tragically killed. This young boy was a friend of Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, prompting him to write this, with the lyrics, "You'll never see the boy, You'll never see him open his eyes." >>
Suggestion credit:
Dave - Ipswich, Australia

Comments: 6

Kan from NswThis was not written about a friend of the band. It was just something Daniel was thinking about at the time. Newcastle is on a fault line and there was an earthquake in 89 that killed 13 (but silverchair were only kids) and another minor earthquake nearby in 1994….but no one died…
Ness from AustraliaThere's exactly ZERO chance that Daniel Johns lost a friend in the Newcastle Earthquake. He was 10 the day the earthquake hit. There was no trapped child in the rubble who died. The youngest person to die that day was 30, and he wasn't a local. The next youngest person to die was in their 50's. Daniel Johns did NOT write this song about a friend who died.
Lynny from Adelaidedo you honestly think in the 25 years Silverchair has been around they created & accomplished more than Nirvana in their 6 years?
Rebecca from Newcastle AustraliaI live in Newcastle Australia where Silverchair is from. We don't experience several earth quakes a year. Rather this song is about a particular earthquake that happened in 1989 which was one of Australia's greatest natural disasters. In fact I don't think we have had an earthquake (outside of mining areas) since this event.
P from Z, United Statesin the book about silverchair called "tommorow never knows" it qoutes Daniel Johns as saying that the lyrics were not about anyone he knew and this was about an earthquake he saw on the news. so your sources may be faulty
Zach from Norman, Oki love this song, but i never had a clue as to what it was about until now. silver chair is amazing. way better than nirvana

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