In a new podcast, Dave Grohl explains that the song “ The Teacher » speaks of his mother, who died in 2022.
In the latest episode of the podcast “ Song Exploder », Dave Grohl returns to the title « The Teacher » by Foo Fighters, which he composed as a tribute to his mother. Longtime teacher Virginia Grohl died in August 2022, approximately five months after the death of Taylor Hawkins; the latest Foo Fighters album, But Here We Are, is dedicated to them.
“ I was with her during the entire period leading up to her death.Grohl told podcast host Hrishikesh Hirway. Every day during that time, I wrote something on my guitar, because I felt like if I didn’t have that release, I was going to explode. I would spend the day in the hospital and then try to translate it musically, without having a clear idea of what I was trying to do. I found these chords and progressions that reflected what I was feeling. »
With more than 10 minutes, “ The Teacher » is the band’s longest song to date. Grohl told Song Exploder that the song was actually made up of two separate demos that he merged to give it epic scope: “ She was the most important person in my entire life. So I thought this must be the most important music I’ve ever made. I could have a piece of music bigger than anything we’ve ever done that I could dedicate to my mother. »
The podcast Song Exploder is one of the rare occasions Grohl spoke about the death of his mother, his co-star in the documentary From Cradle to Stage ; Virginia’s death has still not been publicly announced.
“ I was probably the only one of my friends who liked spending time with his parentsadded Dave Grohl. We were the best friends in the world. I felt like I had to honor him, pay homage to him with this piece of music. That’s when it became something other than a song. It’s the most important thing I’ve ever written, because I wrote it for such a gigantic reason. »
