"Breaking Down" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

I Prevail I Prevail is an American rock band formed in Southfield, Michigan, in 2013. They released their debut EP '' Heart vs. Mind'' (2014) and rose to popularity from releasing a metal cover of Taylor Swift's " Blank Space" as a single, which eventua ...

, released as the second single from their second studio album ''

Trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Psychological trauma, in psychology and psychiatric medicine, refers to severe mental and emotional injury caused by distressing events *Traumatic injury, sudden physical injury caused by an external force, which doe ...

''. In July 2019, it peaked at number three on the ''

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Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart.

Background

The song was first released on February 26, 2019, a month before the release of its respective album, ''

''. It was released within twelve hours of the first single released from the album, "

Bow Down ''Bow Down'' is the debut studio album by American West Coast hip hop supergroup Westside Connection. It was released on October 22, 1996, through Priority Records. The recording sessions took place at Ice Cube's house studio, Westsiiiiide Stud ...

". A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

accompanied the release, which contained lead singer Brian Burkheiser covered in a black sludge, said to be "lyrical and visual representation of depression". It was later debuted in a live setting on March 11, 2019, at the

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

Themes and composition

Thematically, the song's lyrics are self-referential to the band's recent struggles with their rising fame, depression, and

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

. After working hard to establish themselves as a band, and succeeding in gaining popularity with their cover of

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's "

Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the second single from her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). Swift wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Sw ...

" and their first album, ''

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'', a doctor diagnosed Burkheiser with polyp on his

vocal cords In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...

that required surgery. The experience caused him to suffer from depression and almost give up on the band. Burkheiser explained of the song: Burkheiser states that writing the song was therapeutic, and that it "given ima breath of life that ehonestly never thought ewould feel again."

Personnel

Band * Brian Burkheiser – clean vocals * Eric Vanlerberghe –

screamed vocals Screaming is an extended vocal technique that is popular in "aggressive" music genres such as heavy metal, punk rock, and noise music. Screamed vocals are usually harsh, loud and aggressive, used to create an angry, emotional or intense tone. I ...

* Steve Menoian – lead guitar, bass * Dylan Bowman – rhythm guitar * Gabe Helguera – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2019 songs 2019 singles I Prevail songs Fearless Records singles Songs written by David Pramik Songs about depression