"Run" is a song by American rock band

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) ...

. It was released as a single on June 1, 2017, and is off their ninth studio album, ''

Concrete and Gold ''Concrete and Gold'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on September 15, 2017, through Roswell and RCA Records. It is the band's first album to be produced alongside Greg Kurstin. Described by the band as an ...

''. The song performed well commercially and critically, topping the ''

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'' US

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chart. The song won the

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for Best Rock Song and was nominated for

Best Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

, for the

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Background

The song had first been played live in February 2017.Foo Fighters Crank Up the Heavy on New Song 'Run'
billboard.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017. The studio version of the song was released as a single on June 1, 2017,Watch Foo Fighters Perform as Retirees in Crazy New "Run" Video
pitchfork.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017. making it the band's first single since "

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the patroness of music and musicians, ...

" in 2015. Many music journalists noted the song was expected, but not confirmed, to be off of the band's then-upcoming ninth studio album, ''

''. The single was a surprise release, without any prior indication being made of its existence, other than the band's vague allusions to working on music over the course of 2017. Seven weeks after its initial release, the song topped the US ''

chart, the seventh song from the band to do so.

Music video

A music video for the song was released on the same day.Foo Fighters' New Song, 'Run,' Sparks A Nursing-Home Uprising
npr.org. Retrieved June 1, 2017. The video features the band performing the song in a nursing home (abandoned

St Luke's Hospital St. Luke's Hospital may refer to: Australia * St Lukes Private Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania * St Luke's Private Hospital, , Sydney, New South Wales Canada * Hôpital Saint-Luc, Montreal, Quebec China * Shanghai Chest Hospital, formerly St. L ...

in Pasadena, CA), in make-up making them appear as elderly versions of themselves, and end up inciting a riot amongst other patients and orderlies. The nurse in the video is played by

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog S ...

. Multiple outlets, including ''

'' and ''

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'' magazines, felt the music video was an

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to ''

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'',Foo Fighters Are Back! Elderly Dave Grohl Leads a Nursing Home Revolt in Video for New Song, 'Run'
people.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017. while Team Rock noted its additional similarity to the film '' Cocoon''. The video ends with a brief choreographed dance routine, noted by ''

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'' and

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as being similar to the routine done in

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

's video for the song "

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".Foo Fighters Return With the Bruising 'Run' Single and Video (Watch)
variety.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
abcnewsradioonline.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017. The video was directed by band

frontman 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 the ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

.Foo Fighters – "Run"
spin.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017. The old age makeups were designed by Tony Gardner, and created by Alterian, Inc. The video was inspired by drummer

Taylor Hawkins Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, with whom he recorded eight studio albums between 1999 and 2021. Before joining the band in 1997, he ...

lamenting having to do promotional work for the song and album cycle while the band was beginning to look older; when Grohl told him that "it doesn't really matter", Hawkins proposed taking it in the opposite direction, and purposefully making themselves look older, inspiring Grohl to write up a treatment for the video.

Composition and themes

The song is approximately five-and-a-half minutes long, and features a 40-second intro with just soft guitar notes and mellow vocals by Grohl.Foo Fighters return with glorious new single "Run" and video — watch
consequenceofsound.net. Retrieved June 1, 2017. After the intro, the song erupts into a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

sound, featuring heavy, distorted

guitar riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompanime ...

s, thunderous drums, and alternating melodically sung and screamed vocals by Grohl. The song features breakdowns similar to that found in heavy metal and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

music. A number of outlets described the song as one of the heaviest rock songs the band has ever released. Lyrically, the line "Wake up/run for your life with me" is urgently repeated through the song by Grohl.

Reception

The song was generally well-received upon release, with many journalists praising the band for maintaining their high-energy rock sound with the song, while being over twenty years into their career. ''

'' praised the song for being "a return to full-speed-ahead rock. Like the best of Foo Fighters, it's hard and occasionally hilarious." Similarly,

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praised the song for being "an enjoyably ludicrous bit of viral silliness" and concluded "'Run' itself is no joke: Eight (and perhaps soon to be nine) albums into his Foo Fighters career, Grohl still wails with the infectiously unhinged force of a kid a third his age."

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

named the song the eighth best

song of 2017. The single had the highest first day sales of any prior singles for the band. ''SPIN Magazine'' proclaimed "Run" a "thunderous lead single" and a "a galloping game of heavy-metal Red Light, Green Light". The song received two

nominations for Best Rock Song and

Personnel

;Foo Fighters *

– lead vocals, guitar, percussions *

Chris Shiflett Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( ; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is most recognizable as lead guitarist for the American rock band Foo Fighters. He was previously a member of the punk rock bands No Use for a Name (1995–1999) an ...

– guitar, percussions *

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...

– guitar, percussions *

Nate Mendel Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, as well as a former member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He has also worked with musical acts The Jealous So ...

– bass, percussions *

– drums, percussions *

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. Jaffee has contributed to six of the band's studi ...

– mellotron, Casio SK1, organ, percussions ;Other musicians *

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

– piano

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards

References

{{Authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles American heavy metal songs Foo Fighters songs Songs written by Dave Grohl Songs written by Taylor Hawkins Songs written by Nate Mendel Songs written by Chris Shiflett Songs written by Pat Smear Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin RCA Records singles Grammy Award for Best Rock Song