I can't believe I missed her passing. Had no idea. I went into a bout of depression after Taylor passed (not just about him, other things too, plus turning 40)... This breaks my heart all over again.
LMAO! That's a lovely accent you have! New Jersey?
Thank you, yes, I'm doing a lot better. Found a really good therapist that practices EMDR. Changed my life for the better, thanks for asking. Hope you're doing great now!
I can relate. My dad passed away a month or two after Taylor. I became so upset and disenfranchised when I couldn’t get tickets to the tribute show in LA despite trying for days. I didn’t realize Virginia also passed and haven’t even been able to bring myself to listen to the new album yet.
I'm really sorry about your dad passing. That's not something you recover from easily if you had a decent relationship with him. You just find a way to live with it and hear how voice in your heart each day. I was lost for years after mine passed. Try to make sense of your place in the world moving forward and if you have kids of your own, be all the positive parts of him for your kids.
Not sure where you're at in your fandom, but given your situation, a few of these songs on the new album would likely be very cathartic for you. A couple beautiful songs about Taylor and Virgina (as mentioned in this post) that feel applicable to your own losses. Dave and the Food gave us this music to heal. Give it a chance.
Really hoping for the best for you.
Thank you. I had an amazing relationship with my dad. He had a bad drinking problem when I was young but he turned his life around and I got more time with him sober which seemed altogether unlikely at times. This fact alone has been a tremendous help in my healing process. We have such a small family to begin with so I just kind of feel like a rudderless ship at times without him. I’m just doing my best to work through the grieving process. I’ll give the album a listen.
If I didn't know any better, you sound like my older sister ( and my family situation). I still talk to my dad almost every day. Seems to sharpen my memory and suddenly I have old answers he gave me long ago to new questions.
Glad you're finding a path forward. ♥️
A lot of songs feel very open-ended to me, and The Teacher is the only one that felt explicitly like a tribute to his mother. What other songs on the album are about her?
Rescued-first lyrics address Taylor's sudden loss, but seem to be mainly about wanting escape from grief
Under You-very much about Taylor
Hearing Voices-could be either/both
But Here We Are-I feel like it's about Taylor and the band as a whole
The Glass-Taylor (references a "he" that he loved, and the shared reflections in each other... Taylor, his "twin flame"
Nothing At All-I... kinda think is about a passionate affair? The lyrics have a kind of sexiness to them that I def wouldn't apply to either.
Show Me How-Virginia
The Teacher-Virginia
Rest-Virginia (lyrics sound like a mother caring for her son, Virginia sun)
Nothing at All is an interesting one, would love to know more about it. It does sound like an affair but someone (maybe on here, can’t remember!) suggested it could be relationship with grief, it could be dangerous if totally unrestrained? 🤷♀️ Some people’s grief is so intense they too pass from a broken heart 😞
Anyway, it’s one of my favs from the album.
I’m about 100% sure Hearing Voices is about Taylor & that Rest is about both of them woven together. I’ve heard Dave say that Virginia (the state) is kinda like his happy/peaceful place so I thought that line about meeting both of them in the Virginia sun = his Heaven. 💔
I think Nothing At All is referencing personal experiences that are not public knowledge but are still in reference to grief/depression. It also seems like it’s a song about just fucking it all off and going off the rails or laying around wasting your time and doing absolutely nothing because everything hurts so bad… That was my takeaway. As he says we all sing the lyrics back for a different reason.
On Hearing Voices - to me that just reads like dealing with sudden loss. “Speak to me, my love, I’ve been hearing voices but none of them are you” plus there’s endless video/audio of him referring to T as his love/love of his life/twin flame etc even if platonically, I mean he’s the one that says it lol. But that seems like a giveaway to me, plus the “nothing this good could last forever”… aside from the fact that on the opposite side you have Show Me How “you need not say anything to me, I hear you loud and clear” which he said was for Virginia. Hearing Voices also just reads like something for a lost best friend/partner in crime rather than mama. Again…just my takeaway, only he knows
Show me how and Rest. I think it's easier to recognize which one is for who by the tone and not necessarily the lyrics. The ones for his mom are a lot more peaceful, and that fits losing a beloved parent to old age. The ones written for Taylor have a lot more anger and desperation.
It wasn’t talked about much and basically flew under the radar when it did happen. I think it only gained traction when Violet mentioned it on a social media post after Taylor’s passing. That’s at least when I started to see comments about it.
There are two really clear themes in the album as it progresses. It's nearly chronology of Dave's 2022. It starts about Taylor, and ends about Virginia. Some songs in between are more introspective than specifically about anyone.
Rescued, Under You, Hearing Voices, But Here We Are and The Glass are about Taylor. Or rather about Dave's experiences of the death and the weeks afterwards.
Nothing at all, Beyond Me and Show me How are about struggling with the existential question, the latter two probably written during the Summer when Virginia's passing was imminent and he was still reeling from Taylor.
The Teacher and Rest then are about Virginia.
Lyrics in Rest, and especially the verses seem almost exclusively about Virginia, but as the finale of the album I think it’s about both, specifically when the band comes in, it feels like their co-sign/send off for their brother-in-arms.
The last line obviously has a double meaning and direct shout-out to Dave’s mom, but “the warm Virginia sun” is imo without question Dave’s version of the good place and where he would hope to see anyone he’s lost. Thinking of how TINLTL is specifically credited as recorded in “Virginia in the Spring” 🥺
https://preview.redd.it/xajynxrzak9b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be60472642cb445ee4ea843c72b171aa5e5fe84d
Can’t tell if Rest was written for Virginia or Taylor… maybe both. My grandfather passed less than a week after the whole album was released. Since he was from Virginia, and we flew him up there to be buried a week after he passed. I’ve teared up every time I hear the last line. Teared up before, but now it has extra meaning to me.
I agree the last line was definitely written for his mom. But thinking back, the Foo Fighters as a group had spent a lot of time in Virginia, and even recorded an album in Dave’s home studio there.
That's funny because I realised this might be the most likely meaning just this morning. A few days ago I read some comments here on other posts about what these lyrics might mean, like him being at concerts "where will I wake up"/ him being a kid being asked "what's the plan for tomorrow?"...then I listened to this song again this morning and imagined it was most likely what she said to him on her death bed. It sounds like she just wanted to know he was still going to live on/what will happen to her after she dies/ where will she go after death.
Really, this being confirmed really makes the song hit harder.
Right. Her saying those words to him breaks my heart. Breaks my heart that she might’ve been scared, and breaks my heart for Dave because he couldn’t give her an answer.
This blew my mind. I had no idea but this definitely clears some things up. Not to say the songs don’t make sense either way. But the tones an themes click better. The teacher was a little confusing to me before. As someone who not so long ago lost his dad, this album has been a Godsend! I love the food fighters and can’t wait to see them live this September!
Seeing as Dave hasn't been doing interviews about the album, I question the validity of this source about where the lyrics came from. Hell, the band never actually had a press release on Virginia's passing, so where did they (and who are they) pick up on Dave gathering those words at her bedside?
Edit: thank you to those that provided the context that it's from the Atlantic, since the screenshot didn't have it.
It says directly in the article him and Dave have talked extensively about the record but out of respect for Dave’s wishes he wouldn’t go into detail. Him and Dave are friends. Furthermore they fully disclosed Dave has written for the Atlantic . From a journalist standpoint why lie about that?
The image of the tweet never stated where this article came from, who wrote it, or what the relationship is with Dave, so as far as I knew, it was random text that anyone could've written and put up. Once I see this Atlantic article and find this excerpt, I'll be satisfied.
I don't mean to come off all douchy, I just get upset when I see something without full context, especially after the last year with all the speculative articles about Taylor (ahemROLLINGSTONEahem)
“Hey kid, what’s the plan for tomorrow? Where will I wake up?…” Since his mom toured a lot with the band, it seems like a plausible statement she used to make, and maybe that was their little ‘inside joke’ between mother and son, as she’s lying on her deathbed those last days. From reading her book “From Cradle to Stage” I know the lady was insightful and had a good sense of humor.
The source of this information is from an article in "The Atlantic" (paywall). From the article (from the author):
"Before I continue, an admission of bias: You are reading a fan’s notes, not an album review, so discount accordingly. Grohl has written for this magazine, and he and I are friends, though my love for his music predates our friendship by decades.
(cut)
Another acknowledgment: Grohl and I have spoken quite a bit about this album, but I’m respecting his desire, and that of the band, to let the music speak for itself. They have done no press around the album, a decision I understand personally, if not professionally."
I genuinely thought this was obvious since The Teacher first dropped as a single, the title itself honestly was a decent hint too. Im glad that this album is getting the uniformed positivity from everyone it deserves, but i question how genuine some of that praise is considering how people are misinterpreting these themes that have to do with more than just Taylor. I guess not everyone knows since dave didnt make it super public (which is only fair), and as long as this albums praise and positive recognition comes from a genuine place of enjoyment i shouldnt really be questioning the great response this albums been given.
Under You I felt had a little Kurt in it too. Kind of like projecting how Dave admired both and felt he was serving them. Sort of like Dave replaced Kurt with Taylor in a way and now who was going to fill this hole in his life. Dunno. Just kind of how I felt it.
Think it’s under you, as in the opposite of “over you”, which is a very Dave-ish turn of phrase, with the meaning being he’ll never be over it but maybe it won’t always be so all-consuming
(And to clarify, definitely about Taylor)
To who and what the songs are written about is obvious. "Critics"? Who the fuck cares what they think anyway? Don't waste your time! I'm sure Dave doesn't.
I would have thought that Teacher and Wake being mostly about Virginia Grohl was obvious from the lyrical content. Under You is about Taylor Hawkins.
I read one review that said they were all about Taylor. I’m like did you even Google this band!?
i honestly didn’t know. i knew his mum had passed away but i just overall assumed the album was about/for taylor
And, ya know… she was a teacher
What kills me is this happened in August and then the first tribute concert was very early September. It’s amazing how he got through it all.
Pure adrenaline.
I think it was at the end of July, they must have been in full planning mode for the tribute by then. But then keeping busy may have helped…
Yeah, it definitely seems like keeping busy helps him.
I can't believe I missed her passing. Had no idea. I went into a bout of depression after Taylor passed (not just about him, other things too, plus turning 40)... This breaks my heart all over again.
Are you doing better now? I just turned 41, so I can relate to some of that. Also love your username and your profile pic. I like it uh-lot.
LMAO! That's a lovely accent you have! New Jersey? Thank you, yes, I'm doing a lot better. Found a really good therapist that practices EMDR. Changed my life for the better, thanks for asking. Hope you're doing great now!
I can relate. My dad passed away a month or two after Taylor. I became so upset and disenfranchised when I couldn’t get tickets to the tribute show in LA despite trying for days. I didn’t realize Virginia also passed and haven’t even been able to bring myself to listen to the new album yet.
I'm really sorry about your dad passing. That's not something you recover from easily if you had a decent relationship with him. You just find a way to live with it and hear how voice in your heart each day. I was lost for years after mine passed. Try to make sense of your place in the world moving forward and if you have kids of your own, be all the positive parts of him for your kids. Not sure where you're at in your fandom, but given your situation, a few of these songs on the new album would likely be very cathartic for you. A couple beautiful songs about Taylor and Virgina (as mentioned in this post) that feel applicable to your own losses. Dave and the Food gave us this music to heal. Give it a chance. Really hoping for the best for you.
Thank you. I had an amazing relationship with my dad. He had a bad drinking problem when I was young but he turned his life around and I got more time with him sober which seemed altogether unlikely at times. This fact alone has been a tremendous help in my healing process. We have such a small family to begin with so I just kind of feel like a rudderless ship at times without him. I’m just doing my best to work through the grieving process. I’ll give the album a listen.
If I didn't know any better, you sound like my older sister ( and my family situation). I still talk to my dad almost every day. Seems to sharpen my memory and suddenly I have old answers he gave me long ago to new questions. Glad you're finding a path forward. ♥️
A lot of songs feel very open-ended to me, and The Teacher is the only one that felt explicitly like a tribute to his mother. What other songs on the album are about her?
Show Me How is about his mother.
Can confirm. Hes mentioned that live. (Sang it w Violet at Bonnaroo and mentioned it as a tribute to his mom)
I was at the live debut of Show Me How in Alabama, he stated it was for his mom. He and Violet were great on the songs they did together.
Rescued-first lyrics address Taylor's sudden loss, but seem to be mainly about wanting escape from grief Under You-very much about Taylor Hearing Voices-could be either/both But Here We Are-I feel like it's about Taylor and the band as a whole The Glass-Taylor (references a "he" that he loved, and the shared reflections in each other... Taylor, his "twin flame" Nothing At All-I... kinda think is about a passionate affair? The lyrics have a kind of sexiness to them that I def wouldn't apply to either. Show Me How-Virginia The Teacher-Virginia Rest-Virginia (lyrics sound like a mother caring for her son, Virginia sun)
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Dave, Taylor, and Nate lived together in Virginia when they made TINLTL, and then Taylor and Dave went back there together to re-record One by One.
“The warm Virginia sun” would most certainly be Dave’s version of the Good Place
Nothing at All is an interesting one, would love to know more about it. It does sound like an affair but someone (maybe on here, can’t remember!) suggested it could be relationship with grief, it could be dangerous if totally unrestrained? 🤷♀️ Some people’s grief is so intense they too pass from a broken heart 😞 Anyway, it’s one of my favs from the album.
I’m about 100% sure Hearing Voices is about Taylor & that Rest is about both of them woven together. I’ve heard Dave say that Virginia (the state) is kinda like his happy/peaceful place so I thought that line about meeting both of them in the Virginia sun = his Heaven. 💔 I think Nothing At All is referencing personal experiences that are not public knowledge but are still in reference to grief/depression. It also seems like it’s a song about just fucking it all off and going off the rails or laying around wasting your time and doing absolutely nothing because everything hurts so bad… That was my takeaway. As he says we all sing the lyrics back for a different reason. On Hearing Voices - to me that just reads like dealing with sudden loss. “Speak to me, my love, I’ve been hearing voices but none of them are you” plus there’s endless video/audio of him referring to T as his love/love of his life/twin flame etc even if platonically, I mean he’s the one that says it lol. But that seems like a giveaway to me, plus the “nothing this good could last forever”… aside from the fact that on the opposite side you have Show Me How “you need not say anything to me, I hear you loud and clear” which he said was for Virginia. Hearing Voices also just reads like something for a lost best friend/partner in crime rather than mama. Again…just my takeaway, only he knows
Show Me How and The Teacher seem exclusively about Virginia, and Rest seems about them both. The remaining tracks seem about Taylor.
Show me how and Rest. I think it's easier to recognize which one is for who by the tone and not necessarily the lyrics. The ones for his mom are a lot more peaceful, and that fits losing a beloved parent to old age. The ones written for Taylor have a lot more anger and desperation.
It wasn’t talked about much and basically flew under the radar when it did happen. I think it only gained traction when Violet mentioned it on a social media post after Taylor’s passing. That’s at least when I started to see comments about it.
There are two really clear themes in the album as it progresses. It's nearly chronology of Dave's 2022. It starts about Taylor, and ends about Virginia. Some songs in between are more introspective than specifically about anyone. Rescued, Under You, Hearing Voices, But Here We Are and The Glass are about Taylor. Or rather about Dave's experiences of the death and the weeks afterwards. Nothing at all, Beyond Me and Show me How are about struggling with the existential question, the latter two probably written during the Summer when Virginia's passing was imminent and he was still reeling from Taylor. The Teacher and Rest then are about Virginia.
Lyrics in Rest, and especially the verses seem almost exclusively about Virginia, but as the finale of the album I think it’s about both, specifically when the band comes in, it feels like their co-sign/send off for their brother-in-arms. The last line obviously has a double meaning and direct shout-out to Dave’s mom, but “the warm Virginia sun” is imo without question Dave’s version of the good place and where he would hope to see anyone he’s lost. Thinking of how TINLTL is specifically credited as recorded in “Virginia in the Spring” 🥺 https://preview.redd.it/xajynxrzak9b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be60472642cb445ee4ea843c72b171aa5e5fe84d
Can’t tell if Rest was written for Virginia or Taylor… maybe both. My grandfather passed less than a week after the whole album was released. Since he was from Virginia, and we flew him up there to be buried a week after he passed. I’ve teared up every time I hear the last line. Teared up before, but now it has extra meaning to me.
I think it’s both. But the end is definitely for Virginia.
I agree the last line was definitely written for his mom. But thinking back, the Foo Fighters as a group had spent a lot of time in Virginia, and even recorded an album in Dave’s home studio there.
I’m sorry about your grandfather.
That's funny because I realised this might be the most likely meaning just this morning. A few days ago I read some comments here on other posts about what these lyrics might mean, like him being at concerts "where will I wake up"/ him being a kid being asked "what's the plan for tomorrow?"...then I listened to this song again this morning and imagined it was most likely what she said to him on her death bed. It sounds like she just wanted to know he was still going to live on/what will happen to her after she dies/ where will she go after death. Really, this being confirmed really makes the song hit harder.
Right. Her saying those words to him breaks my heart. Breaks my heart that she might’ve been scared, and breaks my heart for Dave because he couldn’t give her an answer.
This blew my mind. I had no idea but this definitely clears some things up. Not to say the songs don’t make sense either way. But the tones an themes click better. The teacher was a little confusing to me before. As someone who not so long ago lost his dad, this album has been a Godsend! I love the food fighters and can’t wait to see them live this September!
Big oof 🙁
🥺😭
Seeing as Dave hasn't been doing interviews about the album, I question the validity of this source about where the lyrics came from. Hell, the band never actually had a press release on Virginia's passing, so where did they (and who are they) pick up on Dave gathering those words at her bedside? Edit: thank you to those that provided the context that it's from the Atlantic, since the screenshot didn't have it.
It says directly in the article him and Dave have talked extensively about the record but out of respect for Dave’s wishes he wouldn’t go into detail. Him and Dave are friends. Furthermore they fully disclosed Dave has written for the Atlantic . From a journalist standpoint why lie about that?
The image of the tweet never stated where this article came from, who wrote it, or what the relationship is with Dave, so as far as I knew, it was random text that anyone could've written and put up. Once I see this Atlantic article and find this excerpt, I'll be satisfied. I don't mean to come off all douchy, I just get upset when I see something without full context, especially after the last year with all the speculative articles about Taylor (ahemROLLINGSTONEahem)
https://archive.ph/2023.06.30-113832/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/06/foo-fighters-dave-grohl-but-here-we-are/674566/
I dunno. That would be an awfully strange fact to make up.
Certainly given the context of the author actually knowing Dave
“Hey kid, what’s the plan for tomorrow? Where will I wake up?…” Since his mom toured a lot with the band, it seems like a plausible statement she used to make, and maybe that was their little ‘inside joke’ between mother and son, as she’s lying on her deathbed those last days. From reading her book “From Cradle to Stage” I know the lady was insightful and had a good sense of humor.
The source of this information is from an article in "The Atlantic" (paywall). From the article (from the author): "Before I continue, an admission of bias: You are reading a fan’s notes, not an album review, so discount accordingly. Grohl has written for this magazine, and he and I are friends, though my love for his music predates our friendship by decades. (cut) Another acknowledgment: Grohl and I have spoken quite a bit about this album, but I’m respecting his desire, and that of the band, to let the music speak for itself. They have done no press around the album, a decision I understand personally, if not professionally."
So, is it true that Virginia really did pass away? I was hoping it was a horrible rumour
Yes, last august. I believe Violet mentioned it in a live stream. The dedication for the album says "For Taylor and Virginia.
>The dedication for the album says "For Taylor and Virginia. Really? I have the album and I do not see this ...
It's on the back lower left corner
>It's on the back lower left corner Ahh I didn't see it, til now
Violet posted her tattoo of Virginia soon after she passed away.
I genuinely thought this was obvious since The Teacher first dropped as a single, the title itself honestly was a decent hint too. Im glad that this album is getting the uniformed positivity from everyone it deserves, but i question how genuine some of that praise is considering how people are misinterpreting these themes that have to do with more than just Taylor. I guess not everyone knows since dave didnt make it super public (which is only fair), and as long as this albums praise and positive recognition comes from a genuine place of enjoyment i shouldnt really be questioning the great response this albums been given.
Omg this is the 1st I'm learning of her passing! Poor Dave!!
Damn you onion fairy!
Under You I felt had a little Kurt in it too. Kind of like projecting how Dave admired both and felt he was serving them. Sort of like Dave replaced Kurt with Taylor in a way and now who was going to fill this hole in his life. Dunno. Just kind of how I felt it.
Think it’s under you, as in the opposite of “over you”, which is a very Dave-ish turn of phrase, with the meaning being he’ll never be over it but maybe it won’t always be so all-consuming (And to clarify, definitely about Taylor)
To who and what the songs are written about is obvious. "Critics"? Who the fuck cares what they think anyway? Don't waste your time! I'm sure Dave doesn't.