"Santa Monica" (subtitled "Watch the World Die" in Europe) 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 Everclear, from their 1995 album '' Sparkle and Fade''. The song was written by the band's lead singer, Art Alexakis. Though it was not commercially released as a single in the United States, American radio stations played "Santa Monica" enough for it to reach number 29 on the '' Billboard''

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart and top the ''Billboard'' Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for three weeks in 1996. It became a top-40 hit in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; it is the band's highest-charting single in Australia.

Background and content

In an October 2003 interview with ''Songfacts'', Alexakis explained the song: When Alexakis was a teenager, his girlfriend committed suicide; shortly thereafter, Alexakis attempted the same by jumping off the Santa Monica Pier in southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Following the terrorist attacks on

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel Communications.

Track listings

US 7-inch jukebox vinyl :A. "Santa Monica" – 3:12 :B. " Heroin Girl" (live) – 2:51 UK limited-edition 7-inch red vinyl single :A1. "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)" :A2. " American Girl" (

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

cover,

KDGE KDGE () is a commercial radio station licensed to both Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts a mainstream adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and Decem ...

version) :B1. "Fire Maple Song" (KDGE version) :B2. "Strawberry" (KDGE version) UK CD1 # "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)" # "Heroin Girl" (KDGE version) # "Summerland" (KDGE version) # "Sin City" ( AC/DC cover) UK CD2 # "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)" # "Strawberry" (KDGE version) # "Fire Maple Song" (KDGE version) # "American Girl" (Tom Petty cover, KDGE version) European maxi-CD single # "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)" # "Heroin Girl" (acoustic version) # "Happy Hour" (demo) # "Sin City" (AC/DC cover) Dutch maxi-CD single # "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)" # "Strawberry" (live) # "Fire Maple Song" (live) # "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)" (live) Australian CD single # "Santa Monica" (album version) # "Heroin Girl" (acoustic version) # "

Don't Change "Don't Change" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released as a single from the album ''Shabooh Shoobah'' in October 1982. It has been described as the band's first international single. Reception ''Cash Box'' reviewed the "Don't C ...

" ( INXS cover) # "Sin City" (AC/DC cover)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1995 singles 1995 songs Capitol Records singles Everclear (band) songs Rock ballads Songs about California Songs about suicide Songs written by Art Alexakis Songs written by Craig Montoya Songs written by Greg Eklund Grunge songs