"Far Behind" is a song by the 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

Candlebox Candlebox is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. Since its formation in 1990, the group has released eight studio albums, several charting singles, a compilation, and a CD+DVD. Candlebox found immediate success with the release ...

and the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their eponymous debut album. It is one of the band's most well-known songs, entering the charts in July 1993 and remaining there until April the following year when it was officially released as a single. It is the group's highest-charting hit, peaking at #18 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, after spending almost a year on the chart. It also reached #4 and #7, on the ''Billboard''

Album Rock Tracks 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 ...

and

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

charts, respectively. "Far Behind" was also included on '' The Best of Candlebox'' in 2006.

Meaning

"Far Behind" is one of a few hit 1990s singles written in tribute to the late singer Andrew Wood. In a 1994 interview with ''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' is an American magazine that has historically featured pictorials of nude and semi-nude men alongside general interest, lifestyle, celebrity journalism, and original fiction. For most of its history, the magazine printed monthly a ...

'', Candlebox frontman Kevin Martin stated that it was inspired by two friends who overdosed on

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and "represents the loss of love between friends and having to be left with the feeling of emptiness." He elaborated in a 2008 interview: :"I wrote 'Far Behind' for Andy Wood. I was a huge Malfunkshun fan and a huge Mother Love Bone fan and I got to know Andy early on in his career when I was working in a shoe store with

Susan Silver Susan Jean Silver (born July 17, 1958) is an American music manager and businesswoman, best known for managing Seattle rock bands such as Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees. Silver also owns the company Susan Silver Management, and ...

who was managing Mother Love Bone,

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

, and

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

Appearances

The song was performed on ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' amidst the promotion of ''Candlebox''. During the 2000s, it has appeared on various 1990s

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s such as; ''MTV the First 1000 Years: Rock'', ''Double Shot: Alt Rock'', ''Essential Music Videos: '90s Rock'', ''The Buzz'', ''Buzz Ballads'', and ''Whatever: The '90s Pop and Culture Box''. The song can be heard on an episode of the HBO series ''

Eastbound & Down ''Eastbound & Down'' is an American sports comedy television series that was broadcast on HBO, and created by Ben Best, Jody Hill and Danny McBride. It stars McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher who, after a career ...

'' when Kenny Powers goes to his friend's funeral while carrying a boombox on his shoulder. In the SyFy Channel's television show ''

Alphas ''Alphas'' is an American superhero drama television series created by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow. It follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, known as "Alphas", as they work to prevent crimes committed by other Alphas. The serie ...

'' the song was played in season 2, episode 4. In

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, the song was soundtrack soap opera of Canal 13 '' Las Vega's''.

Music video

The "Far Behind"

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

was directed by

Nick Egan Nick Egan (born 4 July 1957 in London, England) is a British visual design artist and director of music videos, commercials and film. He graduated from the Watford College of Art and Design with a DGA in 1976.

. It was filmed at the now razed Elliott Farm in Renton, Washington and revolves mainly around the old farmhouse's now supposed inhabitants. Early on, Martin sings with a corded microphone while walking through the neglected structure. A cheerful young woman is also seen sitting at the edge of a grimy, near-empty outdoor pool. The chorus then has a man splashing red paint across the white walls. Various people are seen lying around the house including a lone, weary looking man in a

bathtub A bathtub, also known simply as a bath or tub, is a container for holding water in which a person or another animal may Bathing, bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed Acrylic resin, acrylic, porcelain enamel, porcelain-enameled s ...

who at one point appears to be defending himself from a drowning attempt. Song lyrics are scribbled along parts of the walls, and an

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

serves as a backdrop to certain shots. "Far Behind" aired heavily on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and was one of the most requested videos of 1994.

"I Didn't Mean To Treat You Bad"

In April 2015, Kxng Crooked (aka

Crooked I Dominick Antron Wickliffe (born September 23, 1976), better known by his stage name Kxng Crooked, (stylised as KXNG Crooked and pronounced "King Crooked"; formerly Crooked I) is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He formed the hip ho ...

) of the

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of '' The Slim Shady LP'' that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem ...

hip-hop group

Slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

released an

interpolation In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one ...

of "Far Behind" called "I Didn't Mean To Treat You Bad" that features singer Shalé. The song was produced by Jonathan Hay and Mike Smith for the album '' When Music Worlds Collide''.

Track list

# Far Behind (album version) (4:58) # Far Behind/

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1968 that appears as the final track on the group's third studio album, ''Electric Ladyland'', released that year. It contains improv ...

(live) (9:01) # You (live) (5:27)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

"Far Behind" Music Video on MTV.com
{{authority control 1993 songs 1994 singles Candlebox songs Commemoration songs Maverick Records singles Music videos directed by Nick Egan Sire Records singles Songs about drugs