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"With Arms Wide Open" is a song by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
. It was released on April 18, 2000, as the third single from their second studio album, ''
Human Clay ''Human Clay'' is the second studio album by American rock band Creed, released on September 28, 1999, through Wind-up Records. Produced by John Kurzweg, it was the band's last album to feature Brian Marshall, who left the band in August 2000, ...
''. The song reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 2000, becoming the band's first and only song to top the chart. The song also received honors at the
43rd Annual Grammy Awards The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Several artists earned three awards on the night. Steely Dan's haul included Album of the Year for ''Two Against Nature''. U2 took ...
in 2001, being nominated for
Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011. The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...
, as well as
Scott Stapp Scott Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen, August 8, 1973) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted the band Art of Anarchy and has released three solo albums: '' The Great Di ...
and
Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
winning the
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
.


Writing and recording

Scott Stapp began writing the lyrics to the song in early 1998 during the ''
My Own Prison ''My Own Prison'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Creed, released in 1997. The album was released independently by the band's record label Blue Collar Records on June 24, 1997, but then was released by Wind-up Records on August 2 ...
'' tour, when he found out that his then wife Hillaree Burns was pregnant with his first child, Jagger. According to Stapp the song was written in 15 minutes at soundcheck. Stapp overheard guitarist Mark Tremonti playing and loved what he heard so much that he ran in and told Tremonti to just keep playing as Stapp began singing his lyrics.


Music and lyrics

Stapp wrote the lyrics when he found out, with great surprise, that he was going to be a father. The original lyrics to the song were written from the perspective of having a daughter, even though his wife was pregnant with a boy, as Stapp used "she" during early live performances. This would eventually be changed when Stapp found out he would be having a son. In later years Stapp would not use "he" or "she" in reference to the child but rather "they" to refer to both his sons and daughter. In a 2013 interview with
Songfacts Songfacts is a music-oriented website that has articles about songs, detailing the meaning behind the lyrics, how and when they were recorded, and any other info that can be found. The journalists who work for the site have interviewed thousa ...
, Stapp said of the song: Musically the song is a
power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...
written 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 ...
, with Tremonti playing in
drop D tuning Drop D tuning is an alternative form of guitar tuning in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down from the usual E of standard tuning by one whole step to D. So where standard tuning is E2A2D3G3B3E4 (EADGBe), drop D is D2A2D3G3B3E4 (DADGBe ...
and Stapp singing in his signature baritone singing voice. According to Stapp, following the massive crossover success of the single which he felt led to the song being heavily overplayed, so much so that even his then-wife would turn away from it, and upon hearing impersonations of other people mimicking his vocal delivery in a dramatic, over-the-top fashion he purposely began to alter his vocal style which he feels has helped him grow as a vocalist. He states "I don't know where I picked up all the idiosyncrasies of how I enunciate and I've been called out on my vowels ... But it's actually helped me as a singer because I've heard that and I've intentionally enunciated differently on different words and syllables, so thank you world for pointing out a consistent pattern early in my 20s so I could evolve and grow as a singer. You made me better. Thank you." Three main versions of the song exist. One is the original album version. The second is the radio version, which adds additional hi-hat and drums, and also edits out the ending. The third is the video version (or "Strings Remix") which adds strings to the radio version.


Release and reception

"With Arms Wide Open" 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 ...
''
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart for four weeks in July 2000 and is Creed's only track to appear on the ''Billboard''
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
chart, where it peaked at number 29 in March 2001. In October, the song entered the top 10 of ''Billboard''s
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 and later topped the listing for eight weeks. It also reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the issue dated November 11, 2000, for one week, becoming their first and only number one on the chart. The music video topped VH1's top ten countdown in 2000. On May 10, 2019, nearly 20 years after the release of ''Human Clay'', the single was certified gold by 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) for sales of over 500,000 digital units. On November 30, 2020, the certification was upgraded to double platinum for sales and streams of over two million units. The title became the name of a foundation set up by Stapp to help children and families. To launch the With Arms Wide Open Foundation, the band released a limited edition "enhanced-package single" in September 2000, with proceeds going to the charity to "promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families". The single contained an orchestrated version, a rock version, an acoustic reading, and the music video. In February 2001, Scott Stapp and
Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
were nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song as the writers of "With Arms Wide Open". The song was also nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal but lost to U2 for "
Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, h ...
". The music video for "With Arms Wide Open" was voted the 92nd best music video of all-time by VH1, who also ranked it number four on its "25 Greatest Power Ballads" list.
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) re ...
frontman
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 ...
described "With Arms Wide Open" as "one of the most amazing songs of all time".


Appearances in media

Creed performed the song live on the July 16, 2000, episode of ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...
'', and on November 30, 2000, at the first annual
My VH1 Music Awards The My VH1 Music Awards is an annual music award ceremony held by American television network VH1 held in both 2000 and 2001. Categories, nominees, and winners were selected entirely by public voting at VH1.com. The ceremonies were held at the Shri ...
. The song was made available as downloadable content for the video games ''
Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game ''Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plug ...
'' on September 16, 2014, and ''
Rock Band 4 ''Rock Band 4'' is a 2015 music video game developed and published by Harmonix. ''Rock Band 4'' allows players to simulate the playing of music across many different decades and genres using instrument controllers that mimic playing lead and bas ...
'' on May 21, 2020. A cinematic cover version of the song, performed by Nicole Serrano and
Tommee Profitt Tommee James Profitt (born November 12, 1984) is an American songwriter and producer. Biography Profitt is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2017 to continue his music career. He has w ...
, was used in a February 2022 ad campaign to promote the
94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its u ...
.


Track listings

US limited-edition minimax CD single (60150-18004-2) # "With Arms Wide Open" (strings version) # "With Arms Wide Open" (acoustic version) # "With Arms Wide Open" (rock version) # "With Arms Wide Open" (video) UK CD single (670695 2) # "With Arms Wide Open" (new version) – 3:42 # "With Arms Wide Open" (strings version) – 3:55 # "With Arms Wide Open" (acoustic version) – 3:55 # "With Arms Wide Open" (album version) – 4:26 # "With Arms Wide Open" (video—strings version) UK limited-edition 7-inch single (670695 7) :A. "With Arms Wide Open" (new version) – 3:42 :B. "With Arms Wide Open" (acoustic version) – 3:55 European CD single (WIN 669643 1) # "With Arms Wide Open" (new version) – 3:42 # "With Arms Wide Open" (strings version) – 3:55 Australian and New Zealand enhanced CD single (670739 2) # "With Arms Wide Open" (new version) – 3:42 # "Wash Away Those Years" – 6:04 # "One" – 5:02 # "With Arms Wide Open" (strings version) – 3:55 # "With Arms Wide Open" (video)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications


Release history


Notes


References


External links


Music video

Song meaning
{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1998 songs 2000 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Creed (band) songs Epic Records singles Grammy Award for Best Rock Song Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Rock ballads Songs about parenthood Songs about pregnancy Songs written by Mark Tremonti Songs written by Scott Stapp Wind-up Records singles