Spin:

The lyrics and chorus for this were actually written when I was 16. I first played it for [producer] Ron [Aniello] while he was cooking a steak, and he said he didn't like it. I tried to write a bridge and just couldn't, but I kept working on it. When I finally brought the song back to him, he loved it. I was going through some negative things back then, but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'd met Ron, I was making music and I was starting to figure out where I was going. I started getting excited because I realized I didn't have to regret everything that had happened to me in the past. I could tell good things were starting to happen.

Wash:

"You wash over me like the rain/ You wash over me like the sunshine" - the truth is, you can't have one without the other. You can't truly know happiness without having experienced sadness. A lot of the guitar sounds I got on this record came about by experimentation, which was very cool. I turned all these frequency distortion pedals up at the same time and started playing these harmonics and weird wah-wah things, and some crazy stuff just came out of it. I went back into the studio later and tried to duplicate it, but I couldn't.

Sky Is Falling:

I wrote this after September 11th. I didn't write it specifically about that, but it's my observation on how quickly people can fall back into their everyday lives even after something unbelievably terrible has happened.

Anchor:

I didn't realize it while I was writing this, but someone pointed out that the stanza "Hold my hand/ While I'm sinking in the sand/ No one else would understand/ You are my anchor" can be taken two ways: You can love someone, but they can bring you down, too.

Am I Ever Gonna Find Out:

I ask myself questions all the time: "Where am I? What am I doing here?" or "Why was I put here?" And for me, the joy of music is when I hear feedback from someone who says the songs have helped them get through a rough period in their life. That's the most meaningful thing. Sometimes, it seems you've found the answers you're looking for. But I don't think you ever truly find them. Nothing will completely make sense and just click. So this song is just about the questions I've been asking for the last six or seven years, since when I first started doing music. "Am I ever gonna find out?" The song leaves the question unanswered.

My Precious:

This is my favorite song on the record. We were working on "Spin," and I just went in the other room and wrote it. Ron heard me playing it and said, "Let's record it." We recorded it right after I wrote it. The band had never even heard the song - we just rolled tape and it clicked. It was the coolest thing. I'd like to do a whole record that way because what came out of it was so pure. We had no idea how it was going to turn out. It instantly took on a life of its own, which was amazing.

Out Of Breath:

This was written in 20 minutes, but I think it's one of those songs you have to digest slowly over a long period of time. The record's overall theme is about moving forward, being on the run. But I believe if you over-think a song or lyric, it takes away its special quality. I'm more of the school that says let the song happen and figure out what it's about later.

Just Another Name:

I can see how this song might seem like it's about me, but I actually wrote it from the perspective of a young girl living in Hollywood who becomes famous and loses her identity in the process.

Take Me Away:

This is a spiritual song I wrote after September 11th. It's a love song. It's about wanting to escape from the condition of the world right now.

 

(This quote isn't entirely true...I heard Lifehouse play this song on Sept. 10th, so it was obviously written before that day.)

Stanley Climbfall:

We decided to call the album "Stanley Climbfall" because the phrase seems to sum up how this is an action record. It's about movement. The character of Stanley Climbfall represents "stand, climb, fall." And that, to me, is life. You're gonna be up, you're gonna be down, you're gonna be everywhere in between.

Empty Space:

This is about the good and the bad, the struggle between beauty and darkness and how they're intertwined. What keeps relationships together is often what drives them apart. I've managed to find a niche of writing where I can take something from my own perspective and give it to a broad audience, where they can get something completely different from it than I do. That's the beauty of music - it's a universal language, something people can relate to their own lives.

The Beginning:

There are several different stylistic elements you'll probably see develop in Lifehouse over the next few years. There's that grunge-type stuff, but there's also a Led Zeppelin/Pink Floyd sound that comes out in the bridge of "Spin," for instance. [Drummer] Rick [Woolstenhulme] played a Jim Keltner kind of vibe on this one, and we overdubbed some stuff. It was a very creative process, especially because it involved all of us. It shows another direction we can continue to explore next time. I thought it was a good way to close the album.