The Story Behind The Song: 25 years of Foo Fighters’ classic ‘My Hero’
There isn’t a song in Foo Fighters’ repertoire which accurately epitomises the band more than ‘My Hero’. It’s an anthem that embodies the group’s spirit and has soundtracked a portion of the most important moments in their history.
Initially, when the track was launched by the Foos, fans assumed ‘My Hero’ was written about Kurt Cobain. However, Dave Grohl never wholly confirmed this rumour, despite having ample opportunities to do so. However, one Foo Fighters song which is definitely written about Cobain is ‘Friend of a Friend’, and includes the lyrics: “He plays an old guitar, With a coin found by the phone, It was his friend’s guitar, That he played”.
‘My Hero’ was the third single selected from The Colour and The Shape, and fans of the band immediately gravitated to the song. The ambiguity of the lyrics gives the track a universality that allows people to attribute their own meaning to words, which is the greatest strength of Grphl’s approach. However, the Cobain rumours have always persisted.
After performing ‘My Hero’ on the Howard Stern show in 1999, the interviewer asked if the track was “loosely based on Kurt Cobain”. Pausing for a moment, Grohl uncomfortably replied: “Errr, it’s kinda more about heroes that are ordinary,” adding that he has always looked up to “regular people, more than up to… [celebrities]”. Furthermore, in 2008, following Republican nominee John McCain using the track in his presidential campaign without permission, the band once again revealed the true meaning behind ‘My Hero’. In a statement, they said: “The saddest thing about this is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song.”
According to Radio X, Grohl once said that “there’s definitely an element of Kurt in that song”, but meanings are fluid and change over time. While Cobain may have been one of the people running through Grohl’s mind when he wrote ‘My Hero’, 25 years later, it’s also about another fallen former bandmate.
Although he didn’t play on the record, Taylor Hawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997 and was the beating heart of ‘My Hero’ every time they performed the track live. Following Hawkins’ death, Foo Fighters invited his son, Shane, onto the stage to perform ‘My Hero’ during the tribute concert for his late father at Wembley Stadium, which redefined the meaning of the song.
Following the show at Wembley, it’s hard to listen to ‘My Hero’ without the mind wandering to that tear-jerking moment when Shane paid tribute to his father. Like Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, which took on a new life in the face of tragedy following the Manchester Arena bombing, ‘My Hero’ is now a reminder of Taylor Hawkins and the positive energy he constantly radiated.
Watch the footage below of Foo Fighters performing ‘My Hero’ with Shane Hawkins at Wembley Stadium.
