"Geronimo" is the second single released, in February 2014, by Australian

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band Sheppard. It was written by three of its members, Jason Bovino with the siblings, George and

Amy Sheppard Amy Sheppard is an Australian singer-songwriter and along with her siblings George and Emma, is a forming member of indie pop band Sheppard. She released her debut extended play, ''Nothing But Wild'' in September 2022. Career 2009–present: ...

, and was produced by

Stuart Stuart Stuart Stuart is a Brisbane-based, ARIA-nominated record producer, songwriter, mixer and mastering engineer. His recording studio iAnalog Heart Records and based in Brisbane, Australia. His credits include Sheppard, The Veronicas, Dean Lewis and ...

at Analog Heart Studios,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. It is the first number-one single ever recorded in Brisbane and reached number one on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in April 2014. Having held the position for three weeks, the song became the longest stay at the top of the charts for an Australian artist or band since "

Battle Scars "Battle Scars" is a song performed by Australian recording artist Guy Sebastian and American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released digitally in Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2012 by Sony Music Entertainment.Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

in August 2012. "Geronimo" also held the longest stay at number one on the Australian Singles Chart for any independent release. Furthermore, the track reached the top ten in eleven additional countries. The title is a reference to the famous

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

military leader

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

and the custom of yelling his name before doing a courageous act. In the song, the courageous act is diving down a waterfall. It is also a reference to the Eleventh Doctor's quote "Geronimo!" in the popular sci-fi British drama ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. It was certified 7× platinum in Australia. It was also featured as the trailer theme for the 2015 Australian family film '' Paper Planes'' and appears in the 2015 film '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip'' and its soundtrack. It was also briefly used in '' Alpha and Omega 4: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave'', ''

Underdogs An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

'' and ''

Norm of the North ''Norm of the North'' is a 2016 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by Trevor Wall and written by Daniel R. Altiere, Steven M. Altiere, and Malcolm T. Goldman. It features the voices of Rob Schneider, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Col ...

''. Sheppard performed the song in the 13th episode of the second season of the television series ''

Girl Meets World ''Girl Meets World'' is an American comedy television series created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014. The series ran for three seasons, consisting of 72 episodes, and concluded on January 20 ...

'', called "Girl Meets Semi-Formal", which aired on Disney Channel on 14 August 2015. The song was a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

in the United States, where it peaked at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 2015. The Toby Morris directed music video was nominated for Best Video at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2014 The 28th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) are a series of award ceremonies which include the 2014 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fin ...

and the song for

ARIA Award for Song of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austral ...

.ARIA Award previous winners.

Composition

"Geronimo" is written in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

, with a tempo of 142 beats per minute.

Music video

The official music video, which incorporates many costumes and props made from cardboard, tells the story of a rebellion and two war-torn lovers, one played by the band's lead vocalist George Sheppard. The rebels bring to life a

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

-like creature to aid their army. Amidst the chaos, the two lovers reunite and share a kiss. The video was published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on 1 August 2014 and had received over 49 million views by November 2021. An alternate 'International Version' music video for the song shows the band performing the song in a warehouse, with various props spelling the word "Geronimo", clips of Sheppard running on a treadmill as various backgrounds are projected behind him and shadow puppets used to spell out the lyrics. This video was released on their YouTube channel on June 23rd, 2014.

Track listing

*Digital download #"Geronimo" – 3:37 *Remixes (US Digital download) #"Geronimo" – 3:38 #"Geronimo" (

Benny Benassi Marco "Benny" Benassi (; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ, record producer and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit " Satisfaction". He started his career ...

Remix) – 4:30 #"Geronimo" (

Matoma Tom Stræte Lagergren (born 29 May 1991), professionally known as Matoma, is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. Early life Lagergren was born in Åsnes, Norway. He started playing the piano as a child. During that period, he won a contest t ...

Remix) – 3:32 #"Geronimo" (

D-Wayne Dwayne Megens (born September 6, 1994), better known by his stage name D-wayne, is a Dutch people, Dutch house music DJ and record producer. He releases materials through Nervous specialized house label, Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records, Dim Mak label ...

Remix) – 4:57

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

"Geronimo" was the highest selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in 2014, fourth overall.

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Full Lyrics at LyricsOnDemand.com
{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles APRA Award winners Number-one singles in Australia Sheppard (band) songs Cultural depictions of Geronimo