Foo Fighters - My Hero
“My Hero” is one of Foo Fighters’ most iconic and enduring songs, released as the third single from their second album, The Colour and the Shape, in January 1998. Written by Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, and Pat Smear, the song was actually first demoed by Grohl in July 1995 in the basement of his Seattle home, where he played all the instruments himself on an 8-track reel-to-reel. Bassist Nate Mendel later recalled that hearing this demo made him realize the band had a significant future ahead, calling the song “so great.” The track features a distinctive recording technique where two separate drum tracks played by Grohl were layered together for the intro and verses, creating a complex, powerful galloping rhythm that became one of the song’s most recognizable elements.
The meaning of “My Hero” has been the subject of much speculation over the years. Many fans initially assumed the song was written about Kurt Cobain, Grohl’s late Nirvana bandmate who died in 1994. While Grohl acknowledged that “there’s definitely an element of Kurt in that song,” he has consistently emphasized that the track is actually a celebration of ordinary, everyday heroes rather than celebrities or rock stars. In a 1999 interview on The Howard Stern Show, when asked if it was about Cobain, Grohl clarified that it’s “more about heroes that are ordinary,” explaining that he looks up to regular people more than celebrities. He further elaborated during a 2009 VH1 Storytellers appearance that the song was written while watching 1980s movies like Valley Girl, and that it was about Pete Stahl and Chip Donaldson “without even knowing it.” The song’s universal message about celebrating the common man and his extraordinary potential has allowed listeners to attribute their own personal meanings to the lyrics.
“My Hero” achieved significant commercial success, reaching number six on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart and selling over 600,000 copies in the UK alone. The song’s music video, directed by Dave Grohl himself, features a continuous “long take” format following a man rescuing people and pets from a burning building, with his face never shown to emphasize that heroes are everyday people. The song has been ranked highly on numerous “best of” lists, with American Songwriter naming it the greatest Foo Fighters song and Rolling Stone readers ranking it as the band’s fourth-greatest. Over the years, “My Hero” has taken on new meanings in different contexts. In 2020, Grohl performed an acoustic version from Hawaii for a coronavirus benefit concert, dedicating it to healthcare workers and essential workers on the frontlines. Following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022, the song gained even deeper significance when his son Shane performed it with the band at the tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, creating an emotional moment that redefined the song’s meaning for many fans. The track remains a staple of Foo Fighters concerts and continues to resonate as an anthem celebrating the unsung heroes of everyday life.
Foo Fighters My Hero Lyrics
Too alarmin' now to talk about
Take your pictures down and shake it out
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary
Don't the best of them bleed it out
While the rest of them peter out?
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary
Kudos, my hero
Leavin' all the best
You know my hero
The one that's on
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary