Drive By (song) explained

Drive By
Cover:DriveBy.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Train
Album:California 37
Released:January 10, 2012
Recorded:2011
Studio:New York City
(Integrated Studios)
Venice, Los Angeles
(Ruby Red Studios)
Genre:Pop rock
Length:3:16
Label:Columbia
Prev Title:Save Me, San Francisco
Prev Year:2011
Next Title:50 Ways to Say Goodbye
Next Year:2012

"Drive By" is a song by American pop rock band Train from their sixth studio album, California 37. It was released in the United States as the album's lead single on January 10, 2012, three months before the release of California 37. The song was written by lead singer Pat Monahan and Norwegian songwriting duo Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, the same team responsible for Train's 2009 hit single "Hey, Soul Sister".[1]

"Drive By" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's third (and final) top 10 hit in the US. It was awarded a double platinum certification by the RIAA on July 23, 2012, for more than 2 million sales in the US.[2] Internationally, the song became a top ten hit in 13 countries. Train performed the song on television series 90210 in the episode "Blood Is Thicker Than Mud", which aired on March 13, 2012.[3] Train also performed a parody entitled "Five By" with Elmo and Count von Count for an episode of Sesame Street.[4]

Background

Singer Pat Monahan said, "'Drive By' was about meeting my wife and quickly falling in love, and being really scared about that because I was like, Man, I am not sure if this is a good idea — that something like this would happen so quickly. Because I think generally when you're looking for something big you're not gonna find it, and when you're not looking for that thing it's gonna probably show up and get you. And so, 'Drive By' was all about realizing that I have to not worry about it and just let it be what it is."[5]

Monahan said the lyric, "Hefty bag to hold my love" was inspired by when he used to work at a restaurant in Erie, Pennsylvania. He and his friends would sneak the owner's beer out of the fridge, hide it in trash bags in the dumpster, and then take it home and drink it when their shift was over. This made him associate Hefty bags with holding things that made him happy. When the song was released, Hefty sent him several boxes of garbage bags in gratitude for the shout-out. The "shy guy" in the lyrics came from his restaurant days, when he went to a party where he was scared to talk to anyone. A husband of his coworker, who was a very large but kind man, came up to him and called him "Shy guy."[5]

In July 2011, months before the song's official release, Monahan performed the song in a live performance at the Cricket Amphitheater in Chula Vista, California as part of the band's summer tour. [6]

Composition

"Drive By" is a pop rock song. The instrumentation consists of "buoyant acoustic riffs and a hook-laden melody". Lead singer Pat Monahan sings in a characteristic "sing-talk vocal croon".[1]

The song is in the key of C♯ minor, the chord structure is based on the IV–I–V–vi chord progression, and its tempo is 122 BPM.[7]

Critical reception

Billboard gave the song a positive review stating:

"Drive By" starts with a staccato guitar strum and a percussive thump that certainly recalls its predecessor, with a slight ethnic flavor that makes it recall a Bar Mitzvah reception. Frontman Pat Monahan semi-speaks the [verses] in tuneful, rap-like cadence, then turns to smooth pop singing for the choruses. The lyric, however, is a bit darker [...] Monahan pleads with enough joyful exuberance that she -- and we -- might just buy it.[8]

Writing for Idolator, Becky Bain called the song an "upbeat tune", though noting its potential to become "as big as Hey, Soul Sister" and generate similar backlash from listeners.[9]

Commercial performance

The single has proved to be a worldwide success primarily in the band's home country where it has been certified double platinum and was the 19th most successful song on the Hot 100 chart.[10] In the UK, "Drive By" sold 502,700 copies and was the 23rd best selling single of 2012.[11] It reached number 6 in the UK, making it their highest-charting single there since "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" in 2001.

Music video

The music video was posted on YouTube on February 15, 2012, and was directed by Alan Ferguson.[12] In the video, Monahan portrays a character who reconciles with an old flame during a weekend trip to Wine Country, and features the other band members driving classic cars.

The video starts with Pat Monahan on a phone call with his lover, who tells her, "You should be sorry, you're the one who left. Listen, I'm gonna be late for work. Bye." Monahan then drives to Wine Country in a 1967 Firebird.

Track listing

Digital download
  1. "Drive By" – 3:18
CD single[13]
  1. "Drive By [Song Edit]" – 3:21
  2. "To Be Loved" (Pat Monahan, David Hodges) – 3:41

Credits and personnel

Recording
Personnel

Credits adapted from "Drive By" CD single liner notes.[14]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Drive By"!Chart (2012–13)!Peak
position
Germany (Airplay Chart)[15] 1
Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[16] 1
Luxembourg (Billboard)[17] 5
Slovenia (SloTop50)[18] 32
South Korea (Gaon Music Chart)[19] 85

Year-end charts

Chart (2012)! scope="col"
Position
Australia (ARIA)[20] 56
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] 30
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 77
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 15
Denmark (Tracklisten)[24] 25
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 11
France (SNEP)[26] 111
Germany (Official German Charts)[27] 41
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[28] 3
Italy (FIMI)[29] 18
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 32
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[32] 16
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 12
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 29
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[35] 23
Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[36] 45
US Billboard Hot 100[37] 19
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[38] 5
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[39] 3
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[40] 47
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[41] 30
Chart (2013)! scope="col"
Position
Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[42] 67
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[43] 32

Release history

Country! scope="col"
DateFormatLabel
United States10 January 2012[44] Digital downloadColumbia Records, Sony Music
Germany23 March 2012CD single
United Kingdom16 April 2012[45] Digital download

See also

Notes and References

  1. Zemler. Emily. Train Tries To Follow A Massive Hit - Again - on 'California 37'. Billboard. 9 April 2012. 6 April 2012.
  2. Web site: Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - March 14, 2013 . RIAA . 2013-03-14 .
  3. Gonzalez. Sandra. Train to make musical stop on '90210' -- EXCLUSIVE. Entertainment Weekly. May 18, 2012. January 9, 2012.
  4. Sesame Street: Train - "Five By" . SesameStreet . September 19, 2012 . YouTube . Sesame Street .
  5. Web site: Train's Pat Monahan Explains Some Of Their Most Iconic Lyrics . Harris. Kristin. BuzzFeed. April 30, 2015 . August 11, 2021.
  6. Web site: Drive By (new song), Train, San Diego, CA, 2011. YouTube. July 25, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20240617190442/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51w9nsrniP8. June 17, 2024.
  7. Web site: Train. Train "Drive By" Sheet Music - Download & Print. Musicnotes.com. 2013-09-18.
  8. Track Review: Train, 'Drive By'. Billboard.
  9. Listen To Train's New Single "Drive By". Idolator.
  10. Hot 100 Songs : Jun 30, 2013 - (Chart position) . . December 14, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130630182649/http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/hot-100-songs?begin=11&order=position . June 30, 2013 .
  11. Web site: The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of 2012 revealed! . Officialcharts.com . 2013-03-14.
  12. TrainVEVO. Train - Drive By. February 15, 2012. YouTube.
  13. Web site: Train - Drive By. https://archive.today/20130106020243/http://www.sonymusic.de/Train/Drive-By/P/2625583. dead. 6 January 2013. Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH. 9 April 2012. de.
  14. Drive By . . 2012 . liner notes . . 88691975282.
  15. Web site: Airplay Charts Deutschland – Woche 14/2012 . German Charts . 30 January 2017 .
  16. Web site: The Official Lebanese Top 20 - Train. The Official Lebanese Top 20. December 30, 2012. October 6, 2016.
  17. Luxembourg Digital Songs - April 6, 2012 . Billboard. April 30, 2013.
  18. Web site: SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart. SloTop50. sl. 4 August 2013. 6 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180106063835/http://www.slotop50.si/Glasbene-lestvice/Tedenske-lestvice/?year=2013&week=31. dead.
  19. Web site: South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: January 07, 2012 to January 14, 2012) . . December 15, 2012 . December 21, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121219094524/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon . December 19, 2012 .
  20. Web site: ARIA End of Year Singles 2012. Australian Recording Industry Association. September 12, 2019.
  21. Web site: Jahreshitparade Singles 2012. austriancharts.at. January 4, 2020.
  22. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2012. Ultratop. September 13, 2019.
  23. Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2012. Billboard. August 12, 2019.
  24. Web site: Track Top-50 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130914210309/http://www.hitlisterne.dk/yearlist2012.asp?list=Download%2050. 2013-09-14. da. hitlisterne.dk. April 22, 2022.
  25. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/myydyimmat/2012/ulkomaiset/singlet "Myydyimmät singlet vuonna 2012"
  26. Web site: Top de l'année Top Singles 2012. SNEP. fr. July 13, 2020.
  27. Web site: Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts. de. GfK Entertainment. offiziellecharts.de. July 13, 2020.
  28. Web site: MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 2012. Mahasz . hu . January 18, 2013.
  29. Web site: Classifica annuale 2012 (dal 02.01.2012 al 30.12.2012). Italian. FIMI. June 11, 2022.
  30. Web site: Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2012. Dutch Top 40. October 6, 2019.
  31. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 2012. MegaCharts. nl. December 5, 2019.
  32. Web site: End of Year Charts 2012. The Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. April 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071620/http://nztop40.co.nz/chart?chart=2131. March 5, 2016. live.
  33. Web site: Årslista Singlar – År 2012. Sverigetopplistan. sv. October 3, 2019.
  34. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2012 – hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. September 13, 2019.
  35. Web site: End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2012. Official Charts Company. October 27, 2015.
  36. Web site: Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2012. TopHit. ru. March 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230325115726/https://tophit.com/ru/chart/top/radio/hits/ukraine/annual/2012-01-01. March 25, 2023.
  37. Best of 2012 - Hot 100 Songs. Billboard.com. 2012-12-14.
  38. Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2012. Billboard. September 12, 2019.
  39. Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2012. Billboard. September 12, 2019.
  40. Pop Songs – Year-End 2012. Billboard. September 12, 2019.
  41. Radio Songs – Year-End 2012. Billboard. September 12, 2019.
  42. Web site: Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2013. TopHit. ru. March 31, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230329163735/https://tophit.com/ru/chart/top/radio/hits/ukraine/annual/2013-01-01. March 29, 2023.
  43. Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2013. Billboard. September 12, 2019.
  44. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/drive-by-single/id490730973 iTunes - Music - Drive By - Single by Train
  45. Web site: Praxis Media . Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads . Radio1.gr . 2013-03-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121020105600/http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_uk_singles.htm . 2012-10-20 .