"Meant to Live" is a song by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released to radio on January27, 2003, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, The Beautiful Letdown (2003). The song peaked at number five on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number18 on the Billboard Hot100, becoming the band's first entry to chart and their second-highest charting song. On October22, 2004, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Meant to Live" was also included on the UK version of the soundtrack for the film Spider-Man 2. In 2023, an orchestral version of the song featuring vocals by singer-songwriter Jon Bellion was released under the title "Meant to Live (Jon Bellion Version)" and included on the reissue The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version).
Background Lyrically, "Meant to Live" was inspired by T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men". Singer/writer Jon Foreman has said, "Maybe the kid in the song is me, hoping that I'm meant for more than arguments and failed attempts to fly. Something deep inside of me yearns for the beautiful, the true. I want more than what I've been sold; I want to live life." According to Foreman, this song was also inspired by U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".Ken Phillips Publicity Group – Switchfoot
This track refers to C.S. Lewis's novel Out of the Silent Planet with the lyric "Maybe we're bent and broken."
It also refers to John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, in the lyric "Dreaming about Providence and whether mice or men have second tries."
Composition "Meant to Live" is an alternative rock song that lasts for a duration of three minutes and twenty seconds. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Capitol CMG, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a heavy, moderately slow rock tempo of 76 beats per minute. "Meant to Live" is composed in the key of B minor, while Jon Foreman's vocal range spans one octave and three notes, from a low of D3 to a high of G4.
The song has a incensed post-grunge riff driven by heavy guitars.
Critical reception Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that the song "has its cake and eats it too, musically and lyrically speaking... [its] sympathetic, idealistic (not preachy) viewpoint, combined with its powerful guitars, make[s] the song successful as both an alternative CCM and [a] modern rock single."
Music videos There were three music videos made for this song. The first video features live performance footage, the second is a concept video depicting the band playing inside a house while the walls and insides are slowly being torn down, showing a resemblance to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video, which the "Meant to Live" video has been compared to, and a third video is mixed into clips from Spider-Man 2, and was released exclusively in the UK.
The first two videos featured audio mixed a key higher than the album version.
Awards In 2005, the song was nominated for a Dove Award for Song of the Year at the 36th GMA Dove Awards.2005 Dove Awards – 36th Annual Dove Awards on About.com; Jones, Kim
Track listing UK CD single "Meant to Live" (album version) "On Fire" (live) "The Beautiful Letdown" (live) "Meant to Live" (video)
Charts
Weekly charts +Chart (2003–2004)PeakpositionCanada (Nielsen BDS)15Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)20Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)1
Year-end charts +Chart (2003)PositionUS Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)53
+Chart (2004)PositionUS Billboard Hot 10051US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)21US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)18US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)29
Certifications
Release history +RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United StatesJanuary 27, 2003Alternative radioJune 16, 2003February 2, 2004Hot adult contemporary radioDenmarkJuly 12, 2004CDColumbiaAustraliaJuly 26, 2004United KingdomAugust 2, 2004
References
External links