How are hits born that take pride of place in the history of modern music? If you’re a genius like Tom Petty, you can at your leisure try to compose a melody while fooling around on the keyboard with a friend. And in the text, try to describe what you see outside the car window on the way to work. This is how the famous Free Fallin’ song was born.
The story of the song Free Fallin’
Tom Petty spoke in great detail about how the composition was written:
Jeff Lynne and I sat around and thought about writing a song. I played keyboards and somehow accidentally came up with the main riff, the intro to the song. I think Jeff said something along the lines of, “That’s a really good riff, but there are too many chords.” I think I removed one chord and then, just to amuse Jeff, I sang the first verse. Then he started laughing.
To be honest, I thought I was just making Jeff laugh, but when I got to the chorus, he leaned over to me and said one word: “Freefalling”. And when I started to sing it, he said: “No, take it higher and see what happens.” I went up an octave or two, but didn’t get the whole word out. Then I sang “Freeee” and then “Free falling”. And then we both realized that I had found something really good. It happened so fast. He had to go somewhere, and I wrote the last verse and polished the rest of the song a little.
Billboard
After listening to the track the next day, Jeff was blown away and immediately pulled Tom into the studio.
Meaning of Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty
Many are sure that the girl who was abandoned by the main character of the song was Tom Petty’s lover. But the author refuted this opinion when he talked about the sources of inspiration:
I don’t know who that girl from Free Fallin’ is. I had to make this trip every day. The studio was in the valley and I drove from Beverly Hills to the valley and back every day. On the way, I used to look at Ventura Boulevard, and there the action of life was seething everywhere. I tried to take a bit from the characters I saw along the way, and that’s how I took it. It very truthfully reflects that time, that era … Skateboarders, buyers, young people in the most fashionable clothes, ATMs, car banks. It’s a scene, an endless scene.
Billboard
Some critics consider the song’s lyrics partly autobiographical.
[Песня] appeals to nostalgia, along the way explaining how he [автор] has been such a success. The hit single “Free Fallin'” refers vaguely to a childhood sweetheart he abandoned after leaving Florida for the West Coast in search of stardom.
Chris Jones, BBC Music, 2009
Recording and release of Free Fallin’
It took only two days from the idea of the song to the appearance of the finished version. Free Fallin’ was the first track recorded for the forthcoming album “Full Moon Fever”. Petty recalled:
We had a lot of acoustic guitars. That’s how this incredible sound, immersing in dreams, appeared.
Rolling stone
Free Fallin’ was released as a single in late October 1989. She climbed to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The track climbed even higher in the charts of Canada and New Zealand.
Video of Free Fallin’ Tom Petty
The music video for Free Fallin’ features famed skateboarder Mark “Gator” Rogowski. Let’s watch online the popular music video for the legendary song.
Free Fallin’ cover versions
Over the years, the song was performed by Stevie Nicks, Three Days Grace, John Mayer and other popular musicians.
Interesting Facts
- The song was included in Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
- The song was included on the soundtracks for the films Jerry Maguire (1996), The Sopranos (2000), as well as other films and TV series.
- At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers performed Free Fallin’ with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin.
Free Fallin’ Lyrics by Tom Petty
She’s a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too
She’s a good girl, crazy ’bout Elvis
Love horses and her boyfriend too
It’s a long day living in Reseda1
There’s a freeway2 runnin’ through the yard
And I’m a bad boy ’cause I don’t even miss her
I’m a bad boy for breaking her heart
And I’m free, free fallin’
Yeah I’m free, free fallin’
All the vampires walkin’ through the valley3
Move west down Ventura boulevard4
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
And I’m free, free fallin’
Yeah I’m free, free fallin’
Free fallin’, now I’m free fallin’, now I’m
Free fallin’, now I’m free fallin’, now I’m
I want to glide down over Mulholland5
I want to write her name in the sky
Gonna free fall out into nothin’
Gonna leave this world for a while
And I’m free, free fallin’
Yeah I’m free, free fallin’
Lyrics of Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty
She’s a good girl, she loves her mother
Loves Jesus and America too
She’s a good girl, crazy about Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too
In Reseda the day is long,
The freeway runs through the yard
And I’m a bad boy cause I don’t even miss her
I’m a bad boy cause I broke her heart
And I’m free, in free fall
Yes, I’m free, in free fall
All the vampires walking through the valley
Walking west on Ventura Boulevard
And all the bad guys stand in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
And I’m free, in free fall
Yes, I’m free, in free fall
Free fall, I’m free fall, I
Free fall, I’m free fall, I
I want to roll through Mulholland
I want to write her name in the sky
Gonna throw myself into the abyss of the unknown
I’m going to leave this world for a while
And I’m free, in free fall
Yes, I’m free, in free fall
- Neighborhood in Los Angeles
- Highway 101 in California
- Boulevard in San Fernando
- Meaning the San Fernando Valley
- The famous park road Mulholland Drive, sung by David Lynch in the cult thriller
Song quote
Free Fallin’ is a very good song. It might have been one of my favorites if it hadn’t become such a big anthem. But I am grateful to people for the fact that they love her.
Tom Petty, Esquire, 2006
