Candlebox is a rock band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in December 1991,… Read Full Bio ↴Candlebox is a rock band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in December 1991, they originally named the band Uncle Duke and later changed it as a tribute to a song by Midnight Oil. They were sometimes looked down upon by grunge fans for their style, which was considered by many to be a derivative version of true grunge, and their commercial success suffered as a result. Despite this, the band played the Seattle club circuit during the early 1990s to the many of the same fans who had supported many of the bands that had come immediately before them. The members did not consider Candlebox to be a grunge band however; they viewed themselves as a rock and roll band more than anything. Nevertheless, Candlebox had sold more than 4 million copies of their self-titled debut which, after many months of gaining momentum, peaked at number 7 on Billboard's album charts. Their follow up album, Lucy, was certified as platinum. Their third and last album was Happy Pills, which was released in 1998. Candlebox was the first successful act on Madonna's Maverick Records, which went on to sign Alanis Morissette, Deftones, and Prodigy.

Candlebox was known for an explosive live show and throughout their 8 year career, they toured with such bands as Living Colour, The Flaming Lips, Our Lady Peace, Rush, Henry Rollins, and Metallica. They were also a featured band on the main-stage at Woodstock '94 and made repeat live performances on the David Letterman show.

They are best known for the singles "Change", "You", "Far Behind" and "Simple Lessons". "Far Behind" entered Billboard's Top 20 in July of 1993 and didn't drop off the charts until January of 1994. The videos for "Far Behind" and "You" were in seemingly perpetual rotation on MTV and became two of the most requested videos of 1993.

Drummer Scott Mercado left the band in 1997 and was replaced by former Pearl Jam member Dave Krusen. Krusen later left the band in 1999 and was replaced by Shannon Larkin of Ugly Kid Joe. Bardi Martin also left the band that year, and was replaced by Rob Reddick (formerly of Dig). The band split in year 2000.

As of 2005, singer Kevin Martin is currently recording and performing as the leader of The Hiwatts. Peter Klett is currently recording and performing as the leader of redlightmusic.

In 2006, Candlebox has reunited with their original line-up. They went on a three-month North American tour beginning on July 1st of the same year. This marks their first collaboration since 1996.

In 2008, Candlebox released their fourth studio album called "Into the sun". This meant their return since 1998's Happy Pills. Also, they released a Live album called "Alive in Seattle" which includes tracks from all their past albums.

In 2009, Kevin Martin (along with Sean Hennesy, Candlebox's guitarist) helped form the super-group The Gracious Few with three of the members of the band LIVE. Functioning as lead singer, the band went on to release a self-titled album which accompanied an extensive tour. Though LIVE has reformed with a new lead singer, more material from The Gracious Few is said to be released in the future

Breakaway
Candlebox Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Who was it set you off today?
Always someone wants to take a bow
So you leave it now where you left it off
And then I watch you carry it all
Sometimes we'll slip, fall, fade
We'll fuck it all up
Leaving this town we'll all go
Who was it set you up today?

Always someone wish to pull it off
So they'll pick it up where we let it fall
And then we'll watch them stumble alone
Sometimes we whine to fine-tune our own souls
Leaving this town it's too slow
In all ways in two days
Gotta breakaway now from this town
Gotta breakaway now from it all
Gotta breakaway now and soar high
Never gonna come down
Who was it let you down today?
Always someone who takes it over all
So we'll leave 'em out and break free from the fault
And then we'll watch them learn to crawl
In time they'll slip, fall, fade
They'll fuck it all up
We're leaving this town we'll let them go
In all ways for two days
Gotta breakaway now from this town
Gotta breakaway now from it all
Gotta breakaway now and soar high
Never gonna come down
Leave me alone, you want to drag off my cigarette
Find your own, life, it never made promises
In my face again, you know you were never meant

No time for fucking arrogance
Gotta breakaway now from this town

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Candlebox's song "Breakaway" portray a sense of frustration and a desire for freedom from a toxic environment. The singer is encouraging someone, possibly a friend, to break away from their current situation and leave behind those who let them down. The verse "Who was it set you off today?/Always someone wants to take a bow/So you leave it now where you left it off/And then I watch you carry it all" suggest that this person is carrying the weight of other people's problems, and it is taking a toll on them. They are tired of feeling weighed down by the negativity of others and want to break free.

The chorus, "Gotta breakaway now from this town/Gotta breakaway now from it all/Gotta breakaway now and soar high/Never gonna come down" reinforces the idea of wanting to escape and reach new heights. The person is determined to leave behind the negativity and "never come down." The bridge, "Leave me alone, you want to drag off my cigarette/Find your own, life, it never made promises/In my face again, you know you were never meant/No time for fucking arrogance," suggests that the person is also frustrated with someone who is trying to bring them down and reminding them of the limitations of life. They want to focus on themselves and their dreams instead of being bogged down by negativity.

Line by Line Meaning

Who was it set you off today?
Who upset you today?

Always someone wants to take a bow
There is always someone looking to take credit and show off

So you leave it now where you left it off
You decide to leave things as they were and not change anything

And then I watch you carry it all
I see you dealing with everything all by yourself

Sometimes we'll slip, fall, fade
Sometimes we make mistakes, fall down or lose ourselves

We'll fuck it all up
We will mess everything up

Leaving this town we'll all go
We are all leaving this town

Who was it set you up today?
Who betrayed you today?

Always someone wish to pull it off
There is always someone trying to take control

So they'll pick it up where we let it fall
They will try to pick up from where we left off

And then we'll watch them stumble alone
We will see them struggle by themselves

Sometimes we whine to fine-tune our own souls
Sometimes we complain in order to improve ourselves

Leaving this town it's too slow
This town is too boring so we are leaving

In all ways in two days
In every way, in just two days

Gotta breakaway now from this town
We must leave this town

Gotta breakaway now from it all
We must break away from everything

Gotta breakaway now and soar high
We must break away and aim for the stars

Never gonna come down
We will never come back to this place

Who was it let you down today?
Who disappointed you today?

Always someone who takes it over all
There is always someone who wants to control everything

So we'll leave 'em out and break free from the fault
We will exclude them and break free from the blame

And then we'll watch them learn to crawl
We will see them struggle and learn

In time they'll slip, fall, fade
Eventually, they too will make mistakes, fall down or lose themselves

They'll fuck it all up
They will mess everything up

We're leaving this town we'll let them go
We are leaving this town and letting them stay behind

Leave me alone, you want to drag off my cigarette
Please leave me alone, you are trying to take my cigarette

Find your own, life, it never made promises
You should find your own cigarettes because life doesn't always work out as planned

In my face again, you know you were never meant
You keep bothering me, but you were never meant to be a part of my life

No time for fucking arrogance
I don't have time for your arrogance

Gotta breakaway now from this town
We must leave this town

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BARDI DAVID MARTIN, DAVID KRUSEN, KEVIN COLIN MARTIN, PETER ANDREW KLETT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS