As we saunter through the early months of '08, we find the hairy guitar-sluggers back at the top of the pop tree with their 'Rockstar' single, which has slowly wiggled - like a rather sinister snake - up to number three in the charts. The grunge-lite stomp of 'How You Remind Me', which wooed the nation back in 2001, was far enough in the past to be dismissed as an unfortunate and ill-judged fling - Chad Kroeger, the band's beardy, gruff-voiced singer had long since scuttled back to his native Canada.Īlas, the story does not end there. At the end of 2007, Nickelback seemed like a distant and rather uncomfortable memory. We understand that being rich and famous makes life easier in many aspects, but listing all the symbols of that fame, we hope you realize that it’s all pure appearance.Never underestimate the power of a decent music video or the British punter's ability to baffle. Even the band’s bassist Mike Kroeger confirmed in an interview with Tone Deaf that the lyrics are “absurd.” Another confirmation of the ironic theory is the official video you can see above: the lines are sung by ordinary people expressing the general desire to become famous, not by Nickelback’s singer Chad Kroeger.įrom this point of view, the real meaning of the lyrics inside Rockstar is: being a famous rockstar is like selling your soul to the devil, and all the extreme expressions of lifestyle we describe in this song are just an illusion of what a life worth living is. Nickelback were already famous and rich when they wrote this song, and indeed they faithfully described the excesses of that lifestyle. The question comes naturally while analyzing the real meaning of Rockstar lyrics, and we can most likely confirm that the song is, in fact, ironic. Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar Is Rockstar by Nickelback ironic? We’ll all stay skinny ’cause we just won’t eatĮvery good gold digger’s gonna wind up thereĮvery Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair, and we’ll The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap ‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstarsĪnd live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars From this point of view, it’s the devil talking through Billy Gibbons’ voice, and the outcome of the agreement would then be what’s described in the chorus, representing all the stereotypes of a famous musician again: People interpreted those lines as selling their souls to the devil: trading this life, changing names and haircuts, all that might mean sacrificing essential parts of their identity to achieve what they really want, to be real rockstars. I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame In the song, that voice is interpreted by ZZ Top’s singer Billy Gibbons and his role may be revealed in the pre-chorus: There is also a recurrent voice (the lines in parenthesis) that asks them if that’s what they really want and what they are keen to do to achieve that. The symbols of wealth are the ones people see on TV or in magazines. Somewhere between Cher and James Dean is fine for meĪll lines are about being rich, famous, and recognized. I want a new tour bus full of old guitars Gonna join the mile high club at thirty-seven thousand feet I’ll need a, a credit card that’s got no limit I want a brand new house on an episode of CribsĪnd a king size tub big enough for ten plus me This narrative takes most part of the song, already from the first verse: The dream of every musician, according to the song. This life hasn’t turned out quite the way I want it to beįrom there, the lyrics inside Rockstar describe the kind of lifestyle they want to achieve: having big mansions, being surrounded by groupies, owning expensive cars, and living the stereotypical life of a rockstar. It’s like the bottom of the ninth and I’m never gonna win I’m through with standing in line to clubs I’ll never get in Although the band had already made several number-one hits like 2001’s How You Remind Me and 2003’s Someday, the song’s beginning describes their struggle to be recognized as VIPs, trying to get into clubs without success. In the lyrics, Nickelback’s members say that their life and career still haven’t gone the way they wanted, as they are still not very famous as they wanted to be. Rockstar is a song about the thirst for fame. Rockstar: inside the lyrics and their meaning
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