"For the Nights I Can't Remember" is a song recorded by Canadian

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band Hedley for their second studio album, '' Famous Last Words'' (2007). The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was co-written by the members of the band with the record's producers, Greig Nori and

Dave Genn David Robert Madison Genn is a Canadian musician, producer, and songwriter. He is a member of the rock group 54-40, and a former member of the Matthew Good Band. Early life Genn was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on 2 March 1969. He is the ...

. It was released in November 2007 as the album's second single. In 2009, the song was re-issued digitally with their follow-up single. Following its release, the song reached a peak of six on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Hot 100, making it the group's first top-10 single on the then-new chart. "For the Nights I Can't Remember" went on to be named the ninth most-played song on Canadian radio in 2008, according to Nielsen Company, and also earned the band multiple music awards.

Composition

"For the Nights I Can't Remember" is a

love

produced by Greig Nori and

which lasts for four minutes and one second. According to the sheet music published by

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

, the song is composed in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

and set in compound duple time () to an approximate tempo of 72 BPM. Hoggard's vocals span a two-octave range, from the note of E through E. The song follows a non-repeating chord progression and is instrumented primarily by

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. Lyrically, the song finds Hoggard pleading to his lover for forgiveness for the time he's spent away. "I do want to love you ... And I do want to try," he insists on the chorus, while in the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

he voices regret over "the nights ecan't remember."

Accolades

"For the Nights I Can't Remember" garnered three awards at the 2009 Canadian Radio Music Awards: Fan's Choice, Song of the Year, and the Chart Topper Award. The song also earned Hedley the Pop Music award for songwriting at the 2009

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

Awards.

Chart performance

"For the Nights I Can't Remember" debuted at number 24 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart dated November 17, 2007, the week's second-highest debut. It reached a peak position of six in its eighth week, on the chart dated January 5, 2008, where it was the highest-charting Canadian single. The song spent 39 weeks on the chart. It was the ninth most-played song on Canadian radio in 2008, according to numbers released by Nielsen Company. The song's airplay also contributed to Hedley being the second most-played act (and most-played Canadian) for that year. On a chart compiled by

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, also based on numbers reported by Nielsen, "For the Nights I Can't Remember" was listed as the 61st most-played song on Canadian radio between January 1, 2001 and July 2015.

Music video

An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by

Kevin De Freitas Kevin De Freitas is a Canadian filmmaker. Career De Freitas has worked with Universal, BMG, Columbia Records, Def Jam, Sony, EMI, VP Records, Boost Mobile, ACLC Advertising, and The Hershey Company. He directed the Canadian series of 30 and 60 sec ...

and choreographed by Samy Inayeh; it premiered January 8, 2008. The clip starts off with a battered Jacob Hoggard getting photographed for a mug shot. It cuts to his girlfriend who waits patiently for him, intercut with scenes of Hoggard getting involved an alley fight. The band is also shown playing in a club, accompanied by back-up singers, with his girlfriend arriving to see him. One scene shows the girl looking at a letter from Jacob with the chorus written in; the first line in the chorus is then shown on a music sheet where Jacob performs on piano.

Reception

The video for "For the Nights I Can't Remember" won the awards for Best Video, Best Director (for Kevin De Freitas), and Best Cinematography (for Samy Inayeh) at the

2008 MuchMusic Video Awards The ''2008 MuchMusic Video Awards'' were held in Toronto, Ontario at MuchMusic's headquarters on June 15, 2008 with the rain-soaked Red carpet arrivals that started at 8:00pm ET, but was slightly delayed by rainstorms that soaked the crowds an ...

. This made them the most-awarded act at that ceremony with four wins, including one (Best Rock Video) for "She's So Sorry".

Track listing

Usage in media

"For the Nights I Can't Remember" was used as the

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

for two performances on the American

dance competition Competitive dance is a popular, widespread sport in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, tap, and improv—before a ...

series '' So You Think You Can Dance''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:For The Nights I Can't Remember 2007 songs 2007 singles Hedley (band) songs 2000s ballads Pop ballads Songs written by Jacob Hoggard Songs written by Greig Nori Songs written by Dave Genn Songs containing the I–V-vi-IV progression Universal Music Canada singles