When We Come Alive

Album: Fading West (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman explained the song's meaning during a Spotify track-by-track: "For me, this is a song that speaks to the idea that a lot of times we go through life halfway, living halfway lives," he said. "And yet, there's a spark that can grow into a fire, that the song is speaking to… that we are fire when we come alive, burning brightly. The idea that all it takes is a spark to light that thing up."
  • Jon wrote the song with his brother Tim Foreman, who plays bass in the band, and guitarist Drew Shirley. The vocalist recalled on Land Of Broken Hearts: "Tim and I wrote the chorus with our friend Drew up at his place. We listened back a few days later and knew that we had a good concept, but the verse wasn't quite right. We wrote several more verse ideas, but none of them were quite right. Then Tim had the idea of stealing a verse that we had written a few months ago from a song that wasn't on our list for the record. It was a perfect fit."

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