"Fall to Pieces" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

written and performed by

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...

that appears on their debut album '' Contraband'' in 2004. It was the band's third single, and reached #67 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Content

The song's lyrics are about then lead singer

Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from ...

's battle with heroin and its toll on his relationship with his wife, model Mary Forsberg.

Chart performance

The song was #1 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched i ...

chart for 11 consecutive weeks and #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart for a single week. It also hit #67 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The band performed the song during their performance at Live 8; its performance is the only one of the three songs they played there that appears on the concert DVD.

Composition

The song is played with 1/2 step down-tuned guitars, unlike most of Velvet Revolver's catalogue. Similar to " Sweet Child o' Mine" by

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

(Slash, McKagan and Sorum's previous band), the song is in the key of D flat Mixolydian, and is based on an arpeggiated riff around the Dsus4 chord. Weiland wrote the lyrics; Slash, McKagan, Kushner, and Sorum composed the music.

Music video

The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

follows the meaning of the song, showing Weiland struggling to maintain his relationship with his wife (who appears in the video as herself). It depicts Scott going through an overdose, but being rescued by Duff McKagan.

Track listing

# "Fall to Pieces" - 4:30 # " Surrender" - 4:25

Personnel

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

* Duff McKagan -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Matt Sorum -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, backing vocals * Dave Kushner -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

Charts

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fall To Pieces (Velvet Revolver Song) 2000s ballads 2004 singles 2004 songs Velvet Revolver songs Hard rock ballads Songs written by Slash (musician) Songs written by Matt Sorum Songs written by Duff McKagan Songs written by Scott Weiland Songs written by Dave Kushner RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Josh Abraham Music videos directed by Kevin Kerslake