"Snow (Hey Oh)" (occasionally stylized as "Snow ((Hey Oh))") is a song by American band Red Hot Chili Peppers from their 2006 double album, ''

Stadium Arcadium ''Stadium Arcadium'' is the ninth studio album by American rock music, rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was a double-album released on May 5, 2006, on Warner Bros. Records. It produced five singles: "Dani California", "Tell Me Baby", "Snow (He ...

''. The song was released as the follow-up single to " Tell Me Baby" in 2006, and became the band's third straight number one hit on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock chart, a spot it held for five straight weeks. The single was their 11th to top that chart, giving the band the all-time record for any artist on that chart, a record they still hold to date and extended in 2016 to 13. Vocalist

Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...

states that the track is "about surviving, starting fresh. I've made a mess of everything, but I have a blank slate—a canvas of snow—and I get to start over."

Background

"Snow (Hey Oh)" is a characteristically soft, melodic song, much like those from the band's prior album '' By the Way''. The song is driven by a rapid guitar riff by John Frusciante, and makes use of double stops on the bass by Flea. The song is written in the key of G# minor.

Reception

Frusciante.net revealed that this was going to be the third of seven songs released as a single from ''

''. Before even being released as a single, it climbed to #53 in the UK

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

top 100 on May 13. Like its predecessor " Tell Me Baby", it peaked at #16 in the UK Singles Chart. On January 17, 2007, "Snow (Hey Oh)" became the band's record-breaking 11th number-one Modern Rock single in the United States and is the third consecutive chart-topping Modern Rock single from ''Stadium Arcadium''. In Germany, it was the band's most successful song, reaching #5, making it the band's only Top-10-song there.

Music video

In an interview, Tony Kaye, who also directed the video for " Dani California", told

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

he would be directing the video for the song. However, his footage wasn't used. Instead,

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

commissioned director Nick Wickham to shoot a new video showing the band at the October 17 and 18, 2006 shows at the Continental Airlines Arena in

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

, along with black and white film of fans at the parking lot and lines at the live show.

Live performances

"Snow (Hey Oh)" has been the second most performed song from ''Stadium Arcadium'' and has been performed over 250 times since 2006. On June 28, 2012, at the band's concert at Goffertpark in Nijmegen, Netherlands during the

I'm with You Tour The I'm with You World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of the band's tenth studio album, '' I'm with You''. It marked the band's first tour in four years and first with guitarist Josh ...

, the band performed the song for the first time since the end of the

Stadium Arcadium Tour The Stadium Arcadium World Tour (also known as The Intergalactic Tour) was a 2006–2007 concert tour by the band Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of their ninth studio album, ''Stadium Arcadium''. The band started out with a pre-tour promotiona ...

nearly five years earlier. As of 2023, the song is still featured regularly in the band's setlists.

Appearances

In 2008 "Snow (Hey Oh)" was used as one of the official themes of WWE WrestleMania XXIV. It was also used in ''

Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...

'' in the two-part episode "

My Finale "My Finale" is the 40-minute-long season finale for season eight of the American sitcom ''Scrubs''. It was originally broadcast as episodes 18 and 19 of season eight on May 6, 2009 on ABC, and was intended to be the series finale during produc ...

" and during the end credits in '' Death Note: The Last Name''. The song can be heard in a flashback scene in the '' Cold Case'' episode " Sabotage".

Track listings and formats

;CD single #"Snow (Hey Oh)" – 5:34 #"Permutation" (Live) – 3:43 ;Maxi single 9362 42983-2 #"Snow (Hey Oh)" – 5:34 #"Funny Face" – 4:46 #"I'll Be Your Domino" – 3:54 ;International CD single/7" picture disc 5439 15624-2 #"Snow (Hey Oh)" – 5:34 #"Funny Face" – 4:46 ;iTunes version single #"Snow (Hey Oh)" – 5:34 #"Funny Face" – 4:46 #"I'll Be Your Domino" – 3:54 #"Permutation" (Live) – 3:43

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic. Red Hot Chili Peppers *

– lead vocals * John Frusciante – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizer,

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

* Flea – bass guitar, trumpet * Chad Smith - drums, percussion Additional musicians * Greg Kurstin - Organ on "Funny Face" Recording personnel * Rick Rubin – production * Andrew Scheps – mixing and engineering * Ryan Hewitt – mixing and engineering *

Dana Nielsen Dana Nielsen is an American mix engineer, audio engineer, record producer and saxophonist based in Los Angeles. Nielsen has worked with a wide range of artists including Metallica, Rihanna, The Avett Brothers, Bob Dylan, Adele, Neil Diamond, Slay ...

– engineering * Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman – mastering (vinyl) * Vlado Meller – mastering (CD) * Matt Taylor – design and

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control Red Hot Chili Peppers songs Songs written by Flea (musician) Songs written by John Frusciante Songs written by Chad Smith Songs written by Anthony Kiedis 2006 singles Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin 2005 songs Number-one singles in Hungary Warner Records singles