The song Hurricane from the album This Is War may not have become one of Thirty Seconds to Mars’ super hits, but still attracted the attention of the general public. What made music critics and ordinary listeners actively discuss not the brightest work of the famous American rock band?
Story of Hurricane by Thirty Seconds to Mars
First, a couple of lines about the history of the Hurricane track. In an interview with MTV, Jared Leto revealed when and under what circumstances he got the idea to write the song:
I wrote “Hurricane” in the winter of 2007 in Berlin. It was winter, it was getting dark at about half past four in the evening, and this could cause twofold feelings: either incredibly soothing, or causing incredible longing. Luckily, there was a bit of both. Either way, it was inspiring.
The song features rapper Kanye West. Leto later talked about their experience working together:
[Идея сотрудничества с Уэстом] …was actually a long time ago, and it’s hard to believe that it finally happened… He came here, was here in the studio, and we did something akin to a preliminary audition. We sang a little and realized that we had a lot to go on and finish, so I went to Hawaii, took the sound engineer and a small team with me, and we had a great time.
MTV
Both parties were very pleased with the result, but the labels representing the musicians could not share the copyright. As a result, the composition recorded with West was not included in the This Is War album.
Jared Leto commented on the proceedings as follows:
He sang on that song, but, you know, an album has to be produced and put on the market, and they went through the workings, which are boring to discuss, to figure out all the nuances with the rights of one record company and the rights of another. This has nothing to do with me or Kanye. But he’s phenomenal in song and it’s bound to be released someday. I’m not even sure that this will happen in the first print run, but we will release it.
And so it happened. The deluxe edition of the album was soon released with the bonus track Hurricane 2.0.
Hurricane – Thirty Seconds to Mars
Jared explained the main idea of the composition:
This is a song from the dark side of life. It’s the opposite of Kings and Queens, with a clear sense of optimism, hope and a really strong character, and this song explores different territory, just like his the words.
MTV News
Video Hurricane – Thirty Seconds to Mars
A video was shot for Hurricane, showing the vicious life of the night metropolis. Leto described his concept in the following words:
This is a surreal, nightmarish fantasy about the deserted, dreary streets of New York at night. There are no people, no cars, and you see our group, which is faced with some fears, fetishes and various problems. It’s a very ambitious, very cinematic short film.
MTV
A thirteen-minute video immediately after the release was presented on MTV in November 2010 and was soon banned from showing due to too explicit scenes.
Interesting Facts
- In 2011, Kerrang! recognized Hurricane as the best single.
- Jared Leto himself filmed the video, hiding under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins.
Hurricane Lyrics by 30 Seconds to Mars
No matter how many times that you told me you wanted to leave
No matter how many breaths that you took, you still couldn’t breathe
No matter how many nights that you lie wide awake to the sound of poison rain
Where did you go?
Where did you go?
Where did you go?
As days go by, the night’s on fire
chorus:
Tell me would you kill to save a life?
Tell me would you kill to prove you’re right?
Crash, crash, burn, let it all burn
This hurricane’s chasing us all underground
No matter how many deaths that I die, I will never forget
No matter how many lives that I live, I will never regret
There is a fire inside of this heart
And a riot about to explode into flames
Where is your God?
Where is your God?
Where is your God?
Do you really want…
Do you really want me?
Do you really want me dead
Or alive to torture for my sins?
Do you really want…
Do you really want me?
Do you really want me dead
Or alive to live a lie?
The promises we made were not enough
The prayers that we have prayed were like a drug
The secrets that we sold were never known
The love we had, the love we had
We had to let it go.
Hurricane Lyrics by 30 Seconds to Mars Alternative
It doesn’t matter how many times you said you wanted to leave
No matter how many times you inhale, you still can’t breathe
No matter how many sleepless nights you spent under the sound of poisoned rain
Where did you go?
Where did you go?
Where did you go?
Days go by but every night is on fire
Chorus:
Tell me would you kill to save a life?
Tell me would you kill to prove you were right?
Crash, crash, burn, let it all burn
This hurricane is driving us all underground
No matter how many times I die, I won’t forget
No matter how many lives I live, I won’t regret
There’s a fire in this heart
And a riot is about to break out
Where is your God?
Where is your God?
Where is your God?
Do you really want…
Do you really want me?
Do you really want to see me dead
Or alive to torment me for my sins?
Do you really want…
Do you really want me?
Do you really want to see me dead
Or alive to live a lie?
Our promises weren’t enough
Our prayers were like drugs
The secrets we betrayed no one knew
Our love, our love
We were forced to let go
Song quote
It’s dark, and there’s not much guitar in it, except for a little acoustic in the beginning and even less in the chorus. What’s more, it’s all keyboards. But it’s cool. We are not some narcissistic rock band that strives to impress everyone with our ability to “nag”. We just wanted to do what fits the song.
Tomo, MusicRadar.com
