FOO FIGHTERS
STORY
TIMES LIKE THESE
PLAYLIST
BUT HERE WE ARE (2023)
Foo Fighters Times Like These | A hope and compassion tune used in 2020 against COVID-19
Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters leader, composed ‘Times Like These’ in 2004, when he was feeling: “scared but hopeful”. Who would have thought that in 2020 a group of music stars will sing it to fight against COVID-19.
Tiempo de Lectura | 6.17 min
Tiempo de Escucha | 3.50 min
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Vídeos | Foo Fighters Times Like These
- BBC Radio 1 Stay Home Live Lounge Allstars Times Like These 2020 ft. Foo Fighters
- Trembol | How did Foo Fighters’s Times Like These end fighting COVID-19?
- Foo Fighters Times Like These meaning
- You Can’t Miss | Foo Fighters Times Like These Acoustic Version
- This is what it says | Foo Fighters Times Like These Lyrics
- 3 songs to know Foo Fighters
- Did you know? | Fun facts about Foo Fighters
- Much more | Covers, Carpool Karaoke, Videos…
- Technical Note about Foo Fighters Times Like These
Foo Fighters Times Like These
BBC Radio 1 Stay Home Live Lounge Allstars Times Like These 2020 ft. Foo Fighters
| BBC Radio 1 organized an online event called “Live Lounge” asking British to stay home and protect from COVID-19.
| As a cheer song, because of its hope and compassion message, they chose Foo Fighters Times Like These 👍. All funds raised go to organizations that help vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19.
| List of artists that are part of this charity single: 5 Seconds of Summer, AJ Tracey, Anne-Marie, Bastille, Biffy Clyro, Celeste, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Dermot Kennedy, Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Foo Fighters, Grace Carter, Hailee Steinfeld, Jess Glynne, Mabel, Paloma Faith, Rag’n’Bone Man, Rita Ora, Royal Blood, Sam Fender, Sean Paul, Sigrid, YUNGBLUD and Zara Larsson.
| The song went to UK number one.
Image from YouTube video
Trembol | How did Foo Fighters Times Like This end fighting COVID-19?
Let me start with a bit of history to get us in the situation. Nirvana, a mythical grunge group, disappeared in 1994 due to Kurt Cobain death. Then the band’s drummer, Dave Grohl, decides to record an album and does it in just 1 week playing all the instruments himself (except the backing guitar).
That would be the first Foo Fighters album. It was followed by “The Colour and The Shape”, which critics proclaimed one of the best 90s rock albums.
We jump to 2002, when “One by One” comes out, featuring Times Like These, a song that Dave Grohl wrote on a napkin at a difficult time in his life where he felt scared, but also hopeful, just like he stated. The album would become Foo Fighters’ first UK No. 1 and be awarded with the Grammy for Best Rock Album.
The story of the band continues to 2020, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Foo Fighters as one of the most admired alternative rock bands in the world and turning Times Like These into what has always been for me, a solidarity anthem that gives hope in times you need to fight against difficulties, meaning the damn virus!
By the way, as an anecdote, I love when renowned artists step out of the pot and start parallel projects. In Dave Grohl’s case, it’s a metal band called Probot.
Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters tells us Times Like These meaning:
The lyrics are about hope and love and compassion.
They discuss how I (Dave Grohl) felt like I wasn’t entirely myself [during the unsatisfying recording of the album and the uncertaintity about the future of the band].
La letra habla de esperanza y amor y compasión.
Trata de como yo (Dave Grohl) no me sentía completamente yo mismo [durante la insatisfactoria grabación del álbum y la incertidumbre sobre el futuro de la banda]
You can’t miss ⭐️ Foo Fighters Times Like These Acoustic
You know that we usually highlight those parts of the song that excite us the most, but this time let us change the script and bring you Times Like These acoustic version, because it’s worthwhile It’s from an acoustic concert Foo Fighters recorded in 2006 in Hollywood, “Skin and Bones”.
Foo Fighters Times Like These Acoustic
This is what it says | Foo Fighters Times Like These Lyrics and Spanish translation
LYRICS FOO FIGHTERS | TIMES LIKE THESE | ENGLISH
I, I’m a one way motorway
I’m the one that drives away
Then follows you back home
I, I’m a street light shining
I’m a wild light blinding bright
Burning off alone
It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time again
I, I’m a new day rising
I’m a brand new sky
To hang the stars upon tonight
I am a little divided
Do I stay or run away
And leave it all behind?
It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time againIt’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time againIt’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time againIt’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time again
LYRICS FOO FIGHTERS | TIMES LIKE THESE | SPANISH
Yo, soy una autopista de un solo sentido
Soy aquel que se aleja
Luego te sigue de vuelta a casa
Yo, soy la farola luciendo
Soy una salvaje luz cegadora brillante
Ardiendo sola
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a vivir de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que das y das de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a amar otra vez
Son tiempos como estos una y otra vez
Yo, soy un nuevo día amaneciendo
Soy un nuevo cielo
Para colgar las estrellas esta noche
Estoy un poco indeciso (dividido)
¿Me quedo o huyo
y lo dejo todo atrás?
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a vivir de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que das y das de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a amar otra vez
Son tiempos como estos una y otra vezSon tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a vivir de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que das y das de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a amar otra vez
Son tiempos como estos una y otra vezSon tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a vivir de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que das y das de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a amar otra vez
Son tiempos como estos una y otra vezSon tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a vivir de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que das y das de nuevo
Son tiempos como estos en los que aprendes a amar otra vez
Son tiempos como estos una y otra vez
How does Trembol write the lyrics, translation and meaning or story behind?
Translations in Trembol are handmade with a lot of care and love, because we want to explain you the real meaning of the song and the story behind it, with the author words and in different languages. For this reason, we do not use automatic translators, which translate word by word, without understanding the background of the lyrics. In Trembol we believe in emotions and spreading music, that is why we also translate manually all lyrics to Spanish, like this David Grohl Times Like These, one of the best Foo Fighters songs. Click on the box of the language you want to see, and it will open. If your screen is large enough (typically a PC) you will be able to view the two lyrics in parallel, the original and the Spanish translation at the same time. Cool, isn’t it!
3 songs to know Foo Fighters 🥇
1) Foo Fighters Walk
A legendary song and video. This is the tune that turned me into a Foo Fighters fan, it thrills me every time I listen to it. I hope you feel the same!
2) Foo Fighters What did I do?/God as my Witness
2 songs in 1 and each one more powerful. I like the second part better because of the guitar riffs, which one do you prefer?
3) Foo Fighters Best of You
“I’ve got another confession to make”. This is the beginning of Best of You, a scream that shudders and remains throughout the song.
Did you know...?
Much more | Covers, Carpool Karaoke, Videos…
- On the American TV show, “The Late Late Show with James Corden” there is a popular section called “Carpool Karaoke” where the host, who sings pretty well, drives a car with famous artists singing their songs. This is Foo Fighters Carpool Karaoke. It’s really funny.
- You can find David Grohl and Foo Fighters biography and music here.
- If, like us, you have already fallen in love with “Times Like These”, here are two covers you shouldn’t miss: Glen Campbell and Trance DJ & Ciaran McAuley ft. Roxanne Emery (HØLY WATERS).
- We recommend Metal Circus analysis about the funny way Foo Fighters take the recording of their videos (in Spanish).
- Make sure you visit Foo Fighters best songs playlist. You won’t regret it!
Technical Note about Foo Fighters | Times Like These
- The original song is in D Mayor key and it has a powerful rhythmic base, that goes quite fast at 145 bpm (bits per minute).
- “Times Like This” is a perfect tune to learn some music because it uses non-typical elements in contemporary pop-rock such as: Mixolydian mode and 7/4 Time Signature. If you want to learn more, we explain you about it hereinafter, otherwise skip this section and go straight to the best Foo Fighters songs.
- You’ll find the chords and tabs for piano and guitar in the following sites: Cifraclub, Ukelele-tab and Songsterr, or if you are looking for the drums score: RossFaley. We also recommend:
Classic music studios like Sound City must survive to keep music sounding like people.
“Sound City” Documentary film directed by Dave Grohl
What is the Mixolydian mode?
We always tell you the key used for each song because that way you know the notes used in it. For instance, Times Like These, is D key, so if it were a standard Major scale, the music notes used would be:
- D – E – F# (sharp) – G – A – B – C# (sharp)
The Major scale, also known as Ionic Mode, like all scales is defined by the distance between each pair of notes. In the Major scale, this is the pattern:
- Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Tone – Semitone
A Tone are 2 Semitones, being a Semitone the distance between two piano keys (no matter if they are black or white, like Michael Jackson says 
). Between C and D there is a black key, so the distance is 2 Semitones (1 Tone), and between E and F, there isn’t any, so the distance is 1 Semitone.
It happens that our song is in a different Mode called Mixolydian, which has the seventh note or grade (in this case “C”) a semitone lower than a Mayor scale: C# (sharp) ▶ C.
So, the keys used in Times Like These are: D – E – F# (sharp) – G – A – B – C; and the pattern: T – T – S – T – T – S – T
What is a 7/4 Time Signature?
Music is measured, but not in meters or liters, in units of time represented by notes of different value (quaver/eight note, crotchet/quarter note, minim/half note, etc.). These figures are grouped into bars that have a specific number of beats or pulses.
A time signature tells you the number of pulses per bar (the upper numeral, in our case 7) and the value of each beat (the lower numeral, in our case 4, which means a crotchet/quarter note). Time signatures can be classified according to the number of beats per bar: duple meter (2 beats), triple meter (3 beats), quadruple (4 beats), etc.; and according to the way beats are divided: simple (subdivisions of the beat are divided in 2 equal parts) and compound (subdivisions of the beat are divided in 3 equal parts).
One of the most common time signatures in western contemporary music is 2/4, which indicates that it has 2 beats in each bar and the value of each beat is a crotchet/quarter note, which is represented by number 4. Other common measure signatures are 3/4 and 4/4.
Times Like These, in certain parts of the song (like as of second 13, represented on the image), uses a 7/4 time signature. As you can see, there are 7 pulses of crotchet/quarter note, which is irregular or complex meter signature. In the end, it is a sum of 2 regular ones: 3/4 + 4/4.
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Header and Featured Image used in this article and on Social Media: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi / CC BY-SA | Images used in “Times Like These” Game are all from YouTube video
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