Focused at times playing "neo-ska" music, the band has adopted retro styles spanning several decades of popular music, as well as performing covers of popular songs such as The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" and War's "Why Can't We Be Friends" as well as cult favorites such as ? and the Mysterians' "Can't Get Enough of You Baby" (though their version owes more to The Colourfield's interpretation; in fact, the band at first believed it was a Colourfield original). Smash Mouth's first album Fush Yu Mang came out in June 1997. This album could be said to be "neo ska". Its top position in the charts was #19 (on Billboard). The promo for this album said that "While the twelve songs on Fush Yu Mang sound like they belong side by side, each has it's own feeling like the very '60's "Walkin' On The Sun," the surf 'n' turf of "Nervous In the Alley," the Buzzcocks like "Pet Names," the Mafia rock of "Padrino," and the fret rock of "Let's Rock"." Smash Mouth's second album Astro Lounge was released two years later, in June 1999. It is the band's most critically and commercially successful album to date. It reached #6 on the Billboard charts and it featured the massive hit All Star.
Smash Mouth released their third album Smash Mouth (Self-Titled) in November 2001. It has been said that this is the band's most experimental album to date. It reached #48 on Billboard charts. Smash Mouth's fourth album Get the Picture?, released in August 2003, wasn't as well-received by fans or the critics as previous albums (it only reached #100 on the Billboard charts). Smash Mouth released a Christmas cover album in November 2005 (The Gift of Rock). Their newest album is called Summer Girl, and, after being delayed for over a year, was released on September 19th, 2006. Smash Mouth's music was used in the film "Shrek" and they starred on-screen as themselves in the turbulent finale of the all-star-comedy "Rat Race", while performing "All Star" on stage during the showdown.
In May 2011 lead singer Steve Harwell agreed to eat two dozen eggs in one sitting for charity. That June, Harwell apparently backed out of the challenge -- with over ten thousand dollars for overseas children's hunger charities at stake -- potentially because he is afraid to eat the eggs. Fans continue to demand Harwell eat the eggs.
Two albums were released in 2012, The Gift Of Rock and Magic. A best-of compilation, Playlist: The Very Best of Smashmouth was released in 2016. A comeback single, Unity, was released in 2018.
In 2021, the band collaborated with Timmy Trumpet for the song "Camelot". This would be the band's last song with original lead vocalist Steve Harwell before his retirement later that year and his death 2 years later.
Steve Harwell retired in 2021 due to health issues and was replaced by Divided By Zero singer Zach Goode.
On September 4, 2023, original lead vocalist Steve Harwell died at age 56 at his home of liver failure.
Fallen Horses
Smash Mouth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stretching out the cold
Searching for the answers
And some say I'm not alone
Could you tell me, where I might find fallen horses?
Their spirits they fly
Blinded by the whiteness
I'm wishing that I had wings
So that I could become one
Would you help me if I wanted to die?
I could ride off with horses tonight
Tell me, why?
Why, oh, why?
I said, why?
Why, oh, why?
And now that I've arrived here
I know I'm not alone
All my friends among me
Tell me, welcome home
But could you tell me, where I might find
The one I'm looking for?
'Cause her wings have arrived
Tell me, why?
Why, oh, why?
I said, why?
Why, oh, why?
Tell me, why? Why? Why? Why? Oh, why?
Tell me, why? Why? Why? Why? Oh, why?
The lyrics of Smash Mouth's "Fallen Horses" speak to the universal human experience of searching for answers and belonging. The opening lines paint a picture of a hot summer day, which serves as a metaphor for the singer's internal state - heated and restless. The use of the phrase "stretching out the cold" is intriguing, as it implies a longing for something that is unattainable, like stretching to reach something beyond your grasp. The urgency in the singer's search for answers is evident in the line "some say I'm not alone," as if the singer is grasping for any kind of reassurance that their quest for meaning is a shared experience.
The verses also reveal a longing for escape, an escape that the singer feels isn't possible without help. The image of being "blinded by the whiteness" suggests a kind of blindness or ignorance that prevents the singer from seeing a way out. The singer wishes for wings, to be able to "become one" with the fallen horses they seek. The chorus, which simply repeats the question "tell me why," reinforces the idea that the singer is searching for clarity and purpose.
The final verse suggests that the singer has found a sense of belonging, as their "friends among me" welcome them home. But still, there is a yearning for something more, for "the one I'm looking for" who has arrived with her wings. This sense of unity, of belonging, is juxtaposed with the desire for escape in the earlier verses, resulting in a complex and emotional journey through the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
A long summers day,
The search for the fallen horses began in the morning and continued throughout the day
Stretching out the cold
The search for the fallen horses became more difficult as it got colder
Searching for the answers,
The people searching for the fallen horses were looking for answers as to why they fell
And some say I'm not alone
There were some people who believed that the searcher was accompanied by spirits while searching for the fallen horses
Could you tell me
The searcher is requesting for someone to tell them where the fallen horses are located
Where I might find
The searcher is seeking guidance towards finding where the fallen horses can be located
Fallen horses?
The searcher wants to know where the horses have gone
Their spirits they fly .
The horses' spirits are free and soaring in the air
Blinded by the whiteness,
The searcher is experiencing blindness due to the brightness of the surroundings
Staring at the sun,
The searcher is gazing at the sun, wishing they could be like it
I'm wishing that I had wings
The searcher wants wings to be able to fly and ride with the fallen horses
So that I could become one.
The searcher wishes to become one with the horses by riding with them
Would you help me
The searcher is requesting help from another person
If I wanted to die?
The searcher is contemplating the idea of death
I could ride off
If the searcher were to die, they would ride off with the fallen horses
With horses tonight.
The searcher wants to ride with the horses tonight, even if it means death
Tell me why!
The searcher wants answers to their questions
Why oh why?
The searcher is pleading for answers to their questions
I said why.
The searcher is emphasizing their desire for answers
Now that I've arrived here ,
The searcher has arrived at their destination
I know I'm not alone.
The searcher realizes that they have support
All my friends among me
The searcher's friends are with them
Tell me welcome home.
The searcher wants to be recognized and welcomed by their friends
But could you tell me
The searcher still needs guidance even though they are with their friends
Where I might find
The searcher wants to know how to find the object of their search
The one I'm looking for?
The searcher is still seeking the object of their search
'Cause her wings have arrived.
The object of the search has arrived and they have wings like the other fallen horses
Tell me why!
The question is still unanswered
Why oh why?
The searcher is still pleading for answers
Lyrics Β© MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gregory Dean Camp, Kevin John Iannello, Michael Scott Klooster, Paul Gerard Delisle, Steven Scott Harwell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind