One Last Breath (Creed song)

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Not to be confused with One Last Breath (Maria Elena Kyriakou song).

"One Last Breath"
Single by Creed
from the album Weathered
ReleasedApril 15, 2002 (2002-04-15)
RecordedMid–late 2001
StudioJ. Stanley Productions (Ocoee, Florida, US)
Length3:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Creed singles chronology
"Bullets"
(2002) 		"One Last Breath"
(2002) 		"Hide"
(2002)
Music video
"One Last Breath" on YouTube

"One Last Breath" is a song by American rock band Creed. The band's lead vocalist, Scott Stapp, wrote the song over a period of three weeks and recorded at J. Stanley Productions Inc in Ocoee, Florida. The lyrics of the song are about reflecting on past mistakes and seeking comfort from friends who want to help. It was released in April 2002 as the third single from their third studio album, Weathered (2001).

The song reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their fourth and final top-10 hit. It also reached number five on the Mainstream Rock chart and Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, number four on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and number two on the Adult Top 40 chart. Worldwide, the song peaked at number 43 in Australia, number 29 in New Zealand, number 47 in the United Kingdom, where the song was released as a double A-side with "Bullets", and reached number 41 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Writing and recording[edit]

Prior to recording the Weathered album, Creed had agreed that during the tour for Human Clay that no new songs could be written, so that the band members could "live life and have experiences". The band also agreed that they would not listen to any music between the ending of the Human Clay tour and the start of writing sessions for Weathered, so as not to allow any other music to subconsciously influence the band's writing process and to ensure that all the songs came completely from them. "One Last Breath" was written within a three-week period along with all the other material from the album, which was done primarily in Scott Stapp's living room during four-hour sessions, as well as on his Sea Ray cruiser.[1]

The song was recorded and mixed at J. Stanley Productions Inc. recording studio in Ocoee, Florida, during the mid to late 2001 using Pro Tools.[2]

Music and lyrics[edit]

According to Stapp, the song is about someone crying out for help and realizing the mistakes they've made in their past, as well as being able to lean on one's friends and keeping them close. Stapp also expresses sentiments about how in the minds of "normal, well-adjusted" people, any thoughts of moving beyond this life are not real, and how these surreal thoughts are just flashes-in-the-pan and they would never act upon them.[3]

As with all of Creed's songs, the music was written by guitarist Mark Tremonti. The song is written in the key of D major, with Tremonti playing in standard E tuning and Stapp singing in his traditional baritone with his vocal range spanning from A3-B5.[4][5] Tremonti stated in an interview with Songfacts that the song contains one of his favourite guitar lines and musical compositions that he ever wrote.[6]

"One Last Breath' is one of my favorite guitar lines, so it's one of my favourite musical compositions for Creed. It's a song that turned out to be one of our biggest songs we ever put out. I think it had some of the most views we've ever had on YouTube, so it's a very important one for the Creed camp." — Tremonti[6]

Release and reception[edit]

Released on April 15, 2002,[7] as the third single from Weathered, the song was a chart success both in the United States and internationally. "One Last Breath" gave Creed their fourth and final top-10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending a total of 34 weeks on the chart and peaking at number six on the week of September 28, 2002.[8] The song also reached number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, number four on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and number two on the Adult Top 40 chart.[9][10][11] Internationally, the song peaked at number 43 in Australia and number 29 in New Zealand.[12][13] In the United Kingdom and Ireland—where the song was released as a double A-side with "Bullets"—it peaked at number 47 on the UK Singles Chart and number 41 on the Irish Singles Chart.[14][15] It also charted in Germany, peaking at number 89.[16]

Music video[edit]

Salvador Dalí (pictured in 1939) served as an artistic inspiration to both Stapp and Meyers for the music video

The video was directed by Dave Meyers who had previously directed the video for "What If", "With Arms Wide Open" and "My Sacrifice", and would go on to co-direct the video for the bands next single Don't Stop Dancing along with Stapp. Stapp drafted the treatment for the video and explained his ideas to Meyers. They soon found out they both had a shared love and affection for Salvador Dalí, a Spanish painter known for his surrealist artwork. Most of the video was shot against a green screen with computer-generated animations to create the setting in which the band performs in as well as the otherworldly visuals.[3]

"We've used surreal imagery in our artwork since the beginning, but this is the first video we've fully explored it in. "My Sacrifice" kind of started the surrealism vibe, but we took this one to a different level. There are backdrops kind of like 'Star Wars,' with all these computer-generated cities and scenes that look real but they're not." — Stapp[3]

On the day of the shoot, Stapp was involved in an automobile accident. On April 19, 2002, around 1:40 in the afternoon, Stapp, while driving his Cadillac SUV on Interstate 4 in Florida was struck from behind by a Ford SUV. According to Stapp, the vehicle was going at "probably 50 or 60 miles per hour". Stapp was sent flying forward in his vehicle, with his body hitting the steering wheel and his head hitting the windshield. Stapp, concerned about the wellbeing of the person who hit him, got out of his vehicle to check on the other driver. Although initially the officer on the scene reported no injuries, Stapp soon realized he had not gone unscathed while calling his manager after the accident. He had suffered a concussion from the whiplash and from hitting the windshield. Stapp claims that the police on the scene didn't note any injuries in their report because he refused to call an ambulance or go to the hospital.[17][18]

Due to prior commitments with director Dave Meyers, Stapp managed to show up to shoot the video the very next day where shooting began at 6:00 a.m. Actress Dawn Cairns, who appeared in the "My Sacrifice" video, also makes an appearance as the woman crying bloody tears into a bowl. The band flew her in from Argentina where she had just finished a shoot two days earlier. Beginning to feel the effects of the accident, Stapp had to be medicated during the shoot to deal with the pain in his head, neck, and spine, and was also suffering from a headache. A doctor and a masseuse were on site during the shooting of the video, and a body double was used for certain scenes Stapp was unable to complete. Stapp was limited in the video as he mainly just stood and sang with little movement or gesticulation. Meyers told Stapp during the shoot that his facial expressions from the pain actually helped in getting the emotion of the song to come across better and noted that he could tell Stapp was in terrible pain during the last shot of the video.[3][17]

After the shooting was completed, Stapp's pain continued to worsen, and after an MRI on his neck and back it was revealed that the extent of his injuries were worse than once thought. Doctors discovered he had a bulging disk between two vertebrae in his neck and a smashed disk in his lower back. An adjacent missing disk from a congenital condition likely worsened the situation.[17]

Appearances in media[edit]

On September 16, 2014, "One Last Breath" was made available as downloadable content as part of the "Creed 5-Song Pack" for the video game Rocksmith 2014 along with "Higher", "My Own Prison", "My Sacrifice" and "With Arms Wide Open".[19]

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for "One Last Breath"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States April 15, 2002
Wind-up [7]
May 13, 2002
[34]
United Kingdom July 22, 2002 CD
[35]
Australia September 23, 2002 [36]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (November 2, 2001). "Creed Take You Higher". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. ^ J. Stanley Productions Inc. "Clients". www.jstanleyproductions.com/. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Wiederhorn, John (May 10, 2002). "New Creed Video Looks Like Salvador Dali Meets 'Star Wars'". www.mtv.com. MTV. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  4. ^ "One Last Breath". www.musicnotes.com. Retrieved November 20, 2001.
  5. ^ "One Last Breath". inwhatkey.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Derrough, Leslie (September 17, 2015). "Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge)". www.songfacts.com. Songfacts. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1448. April 12, 2002. p. 31. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Creed Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Creed Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Creed Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Creed Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Creed – One Last Breath". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Creed – One Last Breath". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Irish-charts.com – Discography Creed". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Creed – One Last Breath" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  17. ^ a b c Wiederhorn, John (May 2, 2002). "Scott Stapp Discusses Accident That Derailed Creed Tour". www.mtv.com. MTV. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  18. ^ Wiederhorn, John (April 29, 2002). "Scott Stapp In Car Accident; Creed Tour Cancelled". www.mtv.com. MTV. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  19. ^ "Rocksmith® 2014 – Creed Song Pack". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  20. ^ One Last Breath / Bullets (UK CD single liner notes). Creed. Epic Records, Wind-up Records. 2002. 672826 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ One Last Breath / Bullets (UK DVD single liner notes). Creed. Epic Records, Wind-up Records. 2002. 672826 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ One Last Breath (European CD single liner notes). Creed. Epic Records, Wind-up Records. 2002. WIN 672611 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ One Last Breath (Australian & New Zealand CD single liner notes). Creed. Epic Records, Wind-up Records. 2002. 6729842.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ "Canadian Radio Airplay". Cross Canada Countdown. Retrieved December 29, 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  26. ^ "Creed Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  27. ^ "Top 100 top played radio tracks in Canada in 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on August 12, 2004. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  28. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2002". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  29. ^ "Most-Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2002" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 14. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  30. ^ "The Year in Music 2002: Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 52. December 28, 2002. p. YE-87.
  31. ^ "Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2002" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 10. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  32. ^ "Most-Played Modern Rock Songs of 2002" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 42. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  33. ^ "Most-Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2003" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 11, no. 51. December 19, 2003. p. 22. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  34. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1452. May 10, 2002. p. 32. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  35. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 22 July 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 20, 2002. p. 31. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  36. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 23rd September 2002" (PDF). ARIA. September 23, 2002. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2002. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
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