The Crow & the Butterfly
Encyclopedia
"The Crow & the Butterfly" is the fifth single by the rock band Shinedown
from their 2008 album The Sound of Madness
. The song was written by Shinedown
lead singer Brent Smith. The song had was introduced in 2007, in an acoustic session on The Buckethead Show
.
"The Crow & the Butterfly - EP" was released on iTunes
on July 27, 2010, which included the original song, "The Crow & the Buttefly (Pull Mix)", the music video for the song, and a digital booklet
.
On a blog on the Shinedown
website, Brent Smith said this about the song:
"For me lyrically this was one of the most intense stories I have ever written. But I know the song means something different to everyone."
"We are in the process of reading through video treatments
for the song, and I have to admit we have been so busy with the current tour we are on, and putting everything together for "The Carnival of Madness," we haven't even gotten a chance to ask all of you what you think about the song, and also what kind of video you would like to see from us."
The music video for "The Crow & the Butterfly" was shot on June 24, 2010, which happens to be the 2nd anniversary of The Sound of Madness
. A photo was published of the set, which appeared to be a large room in a mansion. On July 17, 2010, the music video premiered on Yahoo Music. The video begins with the band playing on a stage while a group of mysterious people wearing their black clothes eating dinner and putting their silverware down. Then, a woman with a black mascara teardrop on her eyes comes in and sees the people finishing their dinner. During the dance scene and the chorus, the girl decided to go through the people while searching for a boy. During the bridge, she was too late to find him and she found the man who walks closer to her while transforming as the band. He gives the girl the locket and whispered in her ears. The video ends with the boy and the band walking away into the light while the girl stares at the camera.
The music video debuted on Fuse Top 20 Countdown at #18 on July 23, 2010, and on VH1
's Top 20 Video Countdown at #20 on July 31, 2010.
chart at #1. It was Shinedown
's first single to rank at #1 on the Billboard Rock Songs
chart. It is also #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, thus making The Sound of Madness
the second album ever to have four singles topping the chart, after The Black Crowes
' The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
in 1992. The song has also made appearances on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, debuting at #97, and U.S. Alternative Songs, peaking at #6.
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
from their 2008 album The Sound of Madness
The Sound of Madness
The Sound of Madness is the third studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008. The album's lead single, "Devour," was released to radio on May 5, 2008....
. The song was written by Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
lead singer Brent Smith. The song had was introduced in 2007, in an acoustic session on The Buckethead Show
The Buckethead Show
The Buckethead Show is a talk radio program that airs in Orlando, Florida on WTKS 104.1FM as well as the WTKS website, on XM Satellite Radio Channel 152 and via the Iheartradio app for mobile devices. The show broadcasts weekdays from 11am-3pm . The host of the program is Jason "Buckethead" Bailey...
.
"The Crow & the Butterfly - EP" was released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on July 27, 2010, which included the original song, "The Crow & the Buttefly (Pull Mix)", the music video for the song, and a digital booklet
Digital booklet
Digital booklets are the digital equivalent of liner notes that often accompany digital music purchases. They are most commonly distributed in Portable Document Format. One well-known distributor of digital booklets with digital purchases is the iTunes Store; the first instance of this on the...
.
Song meaning
Brent Smith explained on a radio interview program, Rockline, that while the band was writing the new album, he had a dream about a mother whose son passes away. He wrote the song about the mother dealing with the death of her child and trying to move on.On a blog on the Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
website, Brent Smith said this about the song:
"For me lyrically this was one of the most intense stories I have ever written. But I know the song means something different to everyone."
Music video
Brent Smith said this about a possible "The Crow & the Butterfly" video:"We are in the process of reading through video treatments
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
for the song, and I have to admit we have been so busy with the current tour we are on, and putting everything together for "The Carnival of Madness," we haven't even gotten a chance to ask all of you what you think about the song, and also what kind of video you would like to see from us."
The music video for "The Crow & the Butterfly" was shot on June 24, 2010, which happens to be the 2nd anniversary of The Sound of Madness
The Sound of Madness
The Sound of Madness is the third studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008. The album's lead single, "Devour," was released to radio on May 5, 2008....
. A photo was published of the set, which appeared to be a large room in a mansion. On July 17, 2010, the music video premiered on Yahoo Music. The video begins with the band playing on a stage while a group of mysterious people wearing their black clothes eating dinner and putting their silverware down. Then, a woman with a black mascara teardrop on her eyes comes in and sees the people finishing their dinner. During the dance scene and the chorus, the girl decided to go through the people while searching for a boy. During the bridge, she was too late to find him and she found the man who walks closer to her while transforming as the band. He gives the girl the locket and whispered in her ears. The video ends with the boy and the band walking away into the light while the girl stares at the camera.
The music video debuted on Fuse Top 20 Countdown at #18 on July 23, 2010, and on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Top 20 Video Countdown at #20 on July 31, 2010.
Chart performance
"The Crow & the Butterfly" peaked on the Billboard Rock SongsRock Songs
Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...
chart at #1. It was Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
's first single to rank at #1 on the Billboard Rock Songs
Rock Songs
Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...
chart. It is also #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, thus making The Sound of Madness
The Sound of Madness
The Sound of Madness is the third studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008. The album's lead single, "Devour," was released to radio on May 5, 2008....
the second album ever to have four singles topping the chart, after The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
' The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is the second album by the American blues-rock group The Black Crowes, released on May 12, 1992. It was the first record by the band to feature Marc Ford on lead guitar, replacing Jeff Cease, who was fired the year before.It features four hit singles;...
in 1992. The song has also made appearances on the U.S. 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...
, debuting at #97, and U.S. Alternative Songs, peaking at #6.
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
51 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 97 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs | 6 |
End of year charts
| Charts (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
14 |
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs | 36 |