"Crash and Burn" is a song by Australian pop group

Savage Garden Savage Garden was an Australian pop duo consisting of Darren Hayes on vocals and Daniel Jones on instruments. Formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1993, the duo achieved international success from the mid-1990s to early 2000s with the No. ...

from their second album, '' Affirmation'', released as the album's fourth single (third in the UK) on 20 March 2000. It reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, as well as number 24 on the US

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

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, making it their last US hit to date.

Background

The song's lyrics describe the difficult search for solace and meaningful relationships in a cold world, peaking in a chorus that argues it is fine to "crash and burn" during tough times in order to get over heartache and pain. In a June 2017 interview, singer Darren Hayes described it as one of his favourite Savage Garden songs: "''Musically it’s a dear song to me, because it’s all the words I wished someone would have said to me during the period after the first Savage Garden album.''"

Music video

The video is shot in a partially fantastical theme, featuring scenes of troubled young adults interspersed with scenes of the group singing in a warehouse. Messages such as "stay connected" and lyrics from the song, such as "fall apart" appear on the screen. At the end of the video, Hayes uses

Auslan Auslan () is the majority sign language of the Australian Deaf community. The term ''Auslan'' is a portmanteau of "Australian Sign Language", coined by Trevor Johnston in the 1980s, although the language itself is much older. Auslan is relate ...

to sing the last lyrics of the song.

Track listings and formats

* Australian CD single # "Crash and Burn" – 4:41 # "

I Knew I Loved You "I Knew I Loved You" is a song by Australian pop duo Savage Garden, released through Roadshow Music and Columbia Records as the second single from their second studio album, '' Affirmation'' (1999). The song was created as an attempt to repli ...

" (12-inch Mini Me mix) – 8:25 # "I Knew I Loved You" (club mix) – 6:03 * European CD single # "Crash and Burn" (radio edit) – 3:50 # "I Don't Care" (vocal and drum mix) – 4:10 * European maxi-CD single # "Crash and Burn" – 4:41 # "I Knew I Loved You" (Eddie's Savage Dance mix) – 5:58 # "Gunning Down Romance" (Drum and Bass mix) – 6:05 # "I Knew I Loved You" (Eddie's Rhythm radio mix) – 4:24 * UK CD1 # "Crash and Burn" – 4:41 # "I Don't Care" (vocal and drum mix) – 4:10 # "Crash and Burn" (instrumental) – 4:42 * UK CD2 # "Crash and Burn" (radio edit) – 3:50 # "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" (vocal and drum mix) – 3:26 # "Gunning Down Romance" (drum and bass mix) – 6:05 * UK cassette single # "Crash and Burn" (radio edit) – 3:50 # "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" – 3:26

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''Affirmation'' album liner notes. *

Darren Hayes Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden until their disbandment. Their 1997 album ''Savage Garden (Savage Garden album), Savage Garden'' peaked a ...

–

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

co-producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working Independent film, independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordina ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, background vocals * Daniel Jones – writer, co-producer,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, drum and rhythm programming,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

s *

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...

– producer, keyboards, synthesizers, drum and rhythm programming * Greg Bieck – Macintosh and digital programming * Michael Thompson – electric guitars *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...

–

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass *

Dave Way Dave Way is an American producer, mixer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has worked with Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Kesha, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, Ringo Starr, Shakira, Phoebe Bridgers, John Doe, Sa ...

– mixing at Wallyworld Studios (

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

) * Dave Frazer – vocals engineering at Wallyworld Studios, guitars engineering at Wallyworld Studios and Andora Studios (Hollywood) * Kent Matcke – track engineering * Luis Quine – assistant engineer * Tony Rambo – assistant engineer * Pete Krawiec – assistant engineer * Mark Gregory – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles APRA Award winners Savage Garden songs Song recordings produced by Walter Afanasieff Songs written by Daniel Jones (musician) Songs written by Darren Hayes