"Slide" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

group

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, ...

. It was released as the first single from their sixth studio album, ''

Dizzy Up the Girl ''Dizzy Up the Girl'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, released on September 22, 1998 through Warner Bros. Records. The album is often noted for being the album which propelled the Goo Goo Dolls into success, ...

'', in September 1998. According to lead guitarist

John Rzeznik John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (; born December 5, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the founder, guitarist and frontman of the American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, with whom he has recorded 14 studio albums. Early life Rzeznik w ...

, the song is about a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

girl who becomes pregnant and discusses with her boyfriend how they should react to it. Musically, the track is a

jangle pop Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock or college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The term originated from Bob Dylan's song " Mr. Tambourine Man", whose 1965 rendition by the Byrds became considered one of the g ...

and

song. "Slide" reached number one 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 ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart, the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, and the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song peaked at number eight in February 1999. In Canada, the song debuted atop the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart on October 19, 1998, becoming the band's second number-one single on that chart after "

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

". Worldwide, "Slide" reached number 14 in Iceland, number 29 in Australia, number 36 in New Zealand and number 43 in the United Kingdom.

Meaning and composition

In a 2002 performance on ''

VH1 Storytellers ''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network. In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...

'',

explained that the song refers to a teenage girl in a strict

environment who has become pregnant. She and her boyfriend are debating as to the possibility of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

, which is presented in the song as the verse "do you want to get married or run away". A

and

song, "Slide" is written in

cut time ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning tha ...

() with a

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

Chart performance

Although not as successful as "

", "Slide" became another major hit for the Goo Goo Dolls. The song peaked atop three US ''

'' charts: the

chart, the

chart, and the

chart. On the all-genre ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song peaked at number eight in February 1999 and became the United States' thirteenth best-selling song of 1999. In October 2012, "Slide" was ranked number nine on ''Billboard''s "Top 100 Pop Songs 1992–2012" chart, which also featured two other Goo Goo Dolls hits: "

" (number one) and "

Name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

" (number 24). The Goo Goo Dolls are the only musicians to have three songs chart on the list, two breaking the top 10 and all three falling within the top 25. They are also the only musicians that have back to back singles ("Iris" and "Slide") featured on the list. The

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) awarded the song a platinum

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

in June 2022. In Canada, the song accomplished a rare feat by debuting at number one on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart, on October 19, 1998. Not counting the number-one song on the magazine's first issue, it became only the third (and final) song to debut at number one on this chart, after Band Aid's "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" in 1985 and

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member of the Canadian Music ...

's "

I Wish You Well "I Wish You Well" is the first single released from Canadian singer Tom Cochrane's third solo studio album, ''Ragged Ass Road'' (1995). Inspired by Cochrane's experiences during the years following the success of his album ''Mad Mad World'', the ...

" in 1995. After its debut, "Slide" spent a second week at number one, then dropped to number four on November 2. It spent a total of 26 weeks in the top 20 and remained in the top 100 until the end of 1999. The song also reached number 22 on the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart and number five on the Alternative 30 chart. It was the eighteenth highest-selling single of Canada for 1999. Outside North America, "Slide" underperformed in most countries. It debuted at number 45 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 ...

on January 17, 1999, then slowly climbed up the chart until reaching its peak of number 29 on March 7. Afterwards, it dropped out of the top 30 and left the chart five weeks after peaking. Despite its low peak, it earned a gold certification for sales exceeding 35,000 copies. In neighboring New Zealand, the single first appeared at number 41 on February 21 and peaked at number 36 the following week, then spent three more weeks in the top 50. On the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, "Slide" debuted and peaked at number 43 on March 27, but spent only one more week on the chart before dropping out of the top 100. On the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

, which ranks songs released by

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

record labels, it reached number eight. It found its highest European peak in Iceland, where it charted at number 14 for two weeks.

Music video

The music video was directed by Nancy Bardawil and partially filmed at the El Dorado Hotel on South Spring Street, Los Angeles.

Track listings

UK CD single # "Slide" (album version) – 3:33 # "Acoustic #3" – 1:57 # "Nothing Can Change You" – 3:14 European CD single # "Slide" (album version) – 3:33 # "Acoustic #3" – 1:57 Australian maxi-CD single # "Slide" # "Nothing Can Change You" # "Acoustic #3"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1998 singles Goo Goo Dolls songs Jangle pop songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs about abortion Songs about marriage Songs about parenthood Songs written by John Rzeznik Warner Records singles