"This Is Your Life" is a song by the

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 mainstream or commerci ...

band Switchfoot, and their third single. "This Is Your Life" first appeared on the group's 2003 album ''

The Beautiful Letdown ''The Beautiful Letdown'' is the fourth studio album by alternative rock band Switchfoot. Released on February 25, 2003, it launched the band into the mainstream on the strength of two top 20 singles: "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move." The a ...

'' and peaked at #30 on the US Modern Rock charts. The single also hit the U.S. top 40, peaking at No. 31. Of the three mainstream radio singles released from ''The Beautiful Letdown'', this song was the least successful on the charts. It is also the only single from the album not to have a music video created for it.

Composition

"This Is Your Life" is an

song that lasts for a duration of four minutes and eighteen seconds. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Capitol CMG, it is written in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

, with a steady, moderately slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 124

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. "This Is Your Life" is composed in the key of

C sharp minor C-sharp minor is a minor scale based on C, with the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of four sharps. The C-sharp natural minor scale is: : Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale ar ...

(Cm), while Jon Foreman's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

spans two octaves and five

notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versio ...

, from a low of B₃ to a high of G₅. The song has a basic sequence of Cm–A–B during the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

, alternates between the chords of Cm and A_sus2 in the verses and outro, changes to E–B_sus4–A_sus2 at its chorus and follows Cm–A_sus2–B_sus4–A_sus2–B_sus4–A_sus2 during the interludes as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

Chart positions

In the media

*The song was featured on the season 2 finale of science fiction TV show ''

The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...

'', as well as in nineteenth episode ''Blank'' of season four of '' Smallville''. *It also was featured on the season 7 '' Charmed'' episode "

Charmageddon The seventh season of ''Charmed'', an American supernatural drama television series created by Constance M. Burge, premiered in the United States on The WB from September 12, 2004 through May 22, 2005. Airing on Sundays at 8:00 pm. Paramount Ho ...

Live

In concert this song is played longer than the studio version, with a more psychedelic arrangement, in contrast to the electronica-tinged studio version. The concert version prominently features

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician, the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother Tim ...

screaming into the resonating chamber of his guitar, which distorts the screams to an eerie effect. During the ''

Nothing Is Sound ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 13, 2005 and debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. The first single from the album was "Stars," which was the n ...

'' Tour "This is Your Life" often segued directly into "Happy Is a Yuppie Word". This combination was also played during a few performances of the ''

Oh! Gravity. ''Oh! Gravity.'' is the sixth album by the San Diego, California, San Diego based alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on December 26, 2006. It was Switchfoot's last album released through Columbia Records and Sony BMG (Their next a ...

'' Spring Tour, one of which was notably captured on the band's official bootleg for the 21 February 2007 show in Calgary.

References

External links

Jon Foreman's comments
{{Switchfoot 2003 songs 2004 singles Switchfoot songs Songs written by Jon Foreman Columbia Records singles Sony BMG singles Song recordings produced by John Fields (record producer)