Dave Grohl gets more honest and vulnerable than ever on the latest Foo Fighters single, “The Teacher”, set to appear on the band’s new album, But Here We Are, due out June 2nd.
Grohl’s life has now not once but twice been thrown into chaos following the death of a bandmate and close friend, but his and Foo Fighters’ career has been defined by their ability to channel tragedy into strength and persevere, as the new album’s title suggests. On “The Teacher”, Grohl opens up about the difficulty of saying goodbye, using the ten-minute composition to convey conflicting emotions with musical movements reflecting grief, sadness, and anger before ultimately finding a modicum of relief with a final “goodbye.”
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“You showed me how to need, but never showed me how to say goodbye,” Grohl laments in one of the song’s more tender, reflective moments. “You showed me how to grieve, but never showed me how to say goodbye / Every page turns, it’s a lesson learned in time.” He goes on to make a kind of resolution, telling himself to, “Try and make good with the air that’s left / Counting every minute / Living breath by breath.”
Apropos of the theme of struggling to say goodbye, the song has no real ending. Instead, a warm wash of distortion gradually envelops the band as Grohl repeatedly howls, “Goodbye!” at last.
Check out the video for Foo Fighters’ new single, “The Teacher”, and click below to follow along with the song’s lyrics. The track is available now on all streaming platforms and will appear on But Here We Are alongside previous single “Under You” on June 2nd. Pre-order the album here.
Foo Fighters – “The Teacher”