If Everyone Cared
Encyclopedia
"If Everyone Cared" is the title of a song recorded by Canadian rock group Nickelback
. It was released in November 2006 as the sixth single from the album All the Right Reasons
, and the single released in Australia and the US respectively ("Animals
" was only released in Australia and the US, and "Rockstar
" only in the UK and U.S.). It was released first in the UK, in 27 November 2006 then in the US in 28 November 2006. The song entered inside the Top 40 on the ARIA Singles Chart
on January 7, 2007. The song was then released in most other parts of the world in the beginning of 2007. It debuted at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100
in late January 2007, and climbed to #17. This makes All the Right Reasons the first Nickelback album to feature more than three top 20 singles in the United States
. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Chart. The single cover is similar to The Beatles
's Please Please Me
album cover.
It was announced that 100% of all digital sales for the song will be donated to the charities of Amnesty International
, and the International Children's Awareness Canada
. This ties into the theme of the song and video of caring about something to work towards the improvement of human civilization.
It is currently in use on Animal Planet
's TV series I'm Alive
as the show's theme.
and nobody cried
/If everyone love
d and nobody lie
d./If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
/then we'd see the day when nobody died
."
This message is left standing by itself until the final verse which gives it context additional meaning when it concludes with the lines "If they could love like you and me/Imagine what the world could be."
The last two lines leave open the possibility that the entire song is a testimony to the strength of the person
's love for the unnamed second person (or persons) referred to periodically throughout. There are two types of love expressed in this song: romantic love (love between two persons) and compassion
ate love (love for all people).
The song was dedicated to a Canadian-based Charity called ICA Canada (or International Children's Awareness Canada), a Charity with 0% administration costs which does a lot of volunteer work building sustainable communities in third-world locations. Revenues generated by the song were donated to ICA Canada.
It begins with Nickelback in the studio playing the song. Scenes of this are intercut with images and videos of past social justice and human rights events, essentially when an individual "cared" and ended up changing the world. The people shown are Betty Williams
, who led a march of 35,000 women to the gravesites of three Northern Irish children after witnessing their deaths, Bob Geldof
starting up Live Aid
, Peter Benenson
igniting what would become known as Amnesty International
, and Nelson Mandela
leading South Africa
to its first democratic election, (which would end the racist apartheid régime that had divided the country for 46 years). The video ends with a quote from Margaret Mead
that reads "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- lead vocals, lead guitar
Ryan Peake - rhythm guitar
, backing vocals
Mike Kroeger - bass
Daniel Adair
- drums
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
. It was released in November 2006 as the sixth single from the album All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on October 4, 2005. It is the band's first album with former 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair, who replaced Ryan Vikedal in January 2005...
, and the single released in Australia and the US respectively ("Animals
Animals (Nickelback song)
-Charts:...
" was only released in Australia and the US, and "Rockstar
Rockstar (Nickelback song)
"Rockstar" is the fifth U.S. single by the Canadian rock band Nickelback from their 2005 fifth studio album All the Right Reasons. It was only released in the U.S. and Canada, and has since been re-released worldwide...
" only in the UK and U.S.). It was released first in the UK, in 27 November 2006 then in the US in 28 November 2006. The song entered inside the Top 40 on the ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
on January 7, 2007. The song was then released in most other parts of the world in the beginning of 2007. It debuted at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in late January 2007, and climbed to #17. This makes All the Right Reasons the first Nickelback album to feature more than three top 20 singles in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Chart. The single cover is similar to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
's Please Please Me
Please Please Me
Please Please Me is the debut album by the English rock band The Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of singles "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do" .Of the album's fourteen songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney...
album cover.
It was announced that 100% of all digital sales for the song will be donated to the charities of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, and the International Children's Awareness Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. This ties into the theme of the song and video of caring about something to work towards the improvement of human civilization.
It is currently in use on Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
's TV series I'm Alive
I'm Alive (TV series)
I'm Alive is an American reality television series featuring death-defying stories of people determined to survive any kind of animal attacks, including reenactments by actors. The series premiered on Animal Planet on October 9, 2009.-Season One :...
as the show's theme.
Song meaning
The song is bookended by references to a couple's romantic evening. The first of these transitions quickly into the chorus which lays out the message fairly directly. "If everyone caredEthics of care
The ethics of care is a normative ethical theory; that is, a theory about what makes actions right or wrong. It is one of a cluster of normative ethical theories that were developed by feminists in the second half of the twentieth century...
and nobody cried
Crying
Crying is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures"...
/If everyone love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
d and nobody lie
Lie
For other uses, see Lie A lie is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others....
d./If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Pride
Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
/then we'd see the day when nobody died
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
."
This message is left standing by itself until the final verse which gives it context additional meaning when it concludes with the lines "If they could love like you and me/Imagine what the world could be."
The last two lines leave open the possibility that the entire song is a testimony to the strength of the person
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
's love for the unnamed second person (or persons) referred to periodically throughout. There are two types of love expressed in this song: romantic love (love between two persons) and compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
ate love (love for all people).
The song was dedicated to a Canadian-based Charity called ICA Canada (or International Children's Awareness Canada), a Charity with 0% administration costs which does a lot of volunteer work building sustainable communities in third-world locations. Revenues generated by the song were donated to ICA Canada.
Music video
The music video was directed by Dori Oskowitz, and Produced by Justin Cronkite. Shot in Vancouver, Canada, then returning to Los Angeles for the post production process.It begins with Nickelback in the studio playing the song. Scenes of this are intercut with images and videos of past social justice and human rights events, essentially when an individual "cared" and ended up changing the world. The people shown are Betty Williams
Betty Williams (Northern Ireland)
Betty Williams in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, is a co-recipient with Mairead Corrigan of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work as a cofounder of Community of Peace People, an organisation dedicated to promoting a peaceful resolution to The Troubles in Northern Ireland...
, who led a march of 35,000 women to the gravesites of three Northern Irish children after witnessing their deaths, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
starting up Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, Peter Benenson
Peter Benenson
Peter Benenson was an English lawyer and the founder of human rights group Amnesty International . In 2001, Benenson received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement.-Biography:...
igniting what would become known as Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, and Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
leading South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to its first democratic election, (which would end the racist apartheid régime that had divided the country for 46 years). The video ends with a quote from Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
that reads "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Official versions
- "If Everyone Cared" (Album Version) - 3:38
- "Too Bad (Acoustic)"
- "Someday (Acoustic)"
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| Australia | |
| Europe | |
| United States |
Charts
| Chart (2006–07) | Peak position |
|---|---|
End of year charts
| Year | Chart | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | German Singles Chart | 95 |
Personnel
Chad KroegerChad Kroeger
Chad Robert Kroeger is aCanadian songwriter, singer, and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback...
- lead vocals, lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
Ryan Peake - rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals
Mike Kroeger - bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Daniel Adair
Daniel Adair
Daniel Patrick Adair is a Canadian drummer best known as the current drummer for Canadian rock band Nickelback and his previous work with American rock band 3 Doors Down...
- drums