\u201cIris\u201d is essentially about wanting another person to see who you really are, even if revealing yourself makes you vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik wrote it for the 1998 film City of Angels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that context explains almost everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the film, Nicolas Cage plays an angel who falls in love with a human woman played by Meg Ryan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He faces an extraordinary choice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
remain immortal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or become human so he can experience life and love with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIris\u201d is written from inside that emotional problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imagine being invisible to the person you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not metaphorically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Literally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the world Rzeznik was writing around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The character has spent existence observing human beings without being one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he experiences love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly immortality doesn’t seem enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
touch<\/p>\n\n\n\n
pain<\/p>\n\n\n\n
risk<\/p>\n\n\n\n
connection<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being alive becomes more valuable because life can end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because pain proves humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An immortal angel doesn’t experience the same physical vulnerability as a human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the character, suffering isn’t simply something to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is part of what makes life meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s why \u201cIris\u201d constantly connects love with vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If nothing can hurt you, perhaps nothing can fully matter either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was dealing with severe writer’s block and has described being in a difficult personal and creative period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was even questioning the future of the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the City of Angels soundtrack opportunity arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rzeznik connected with the film’s story and the song came together rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes a constraint solves writer’s block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of asking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do I want to say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He could ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does this character feel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, the word \u201cIris\u201d doesn’t appear in the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rzeznik reportedly chose the title after seeing the name Iris DeMent in a magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means generations of listeners have searched the lyrics looking for an Iris who isn’t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The title isn’t the protagonist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s simply the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIris\u201d uses an unusual guitar tuning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That helps create the ringing, open quality of the chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combined with strings and mandolin-like textures, it gives the song a sound that doesn’t quite behave like a standard 1990s rock ballad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A conventional guitar arrangement might have made the song feel much more ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enormous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It dominated US radio and spent 18 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Radio Songs\/Hot 100 Airplay measure, establishing a record at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also earned three Grammy nominations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More importantly, it never really went away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the emotional idea hasn’t aged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wanting somebody to understand you is arguably even more relevant in a world where everybody is constantly presenting edited versions of themselves online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can be seen by thousands of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That doesn’t mean anybody knows you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIris\u201d is about the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goo Goo Dolls \u2013 Black Balloon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lifehouse \u2013 Hanging by a Moment<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Calling \u2013 Wherever You Will Go<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Snow Patrol \u2013 Chasing Cars<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fray \u2013 How to Save a Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matchbox Twenty \u2013 3AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vertical Horizon \u2013 Everything You Want<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third Eye Blind \u2013 How\u2019s It Going to Be<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foo Fighters \u2013 Everlong<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coldplay \u2013 The Scientist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being known is worth the risk of being hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the angel in City of Angels, that means becoming human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For everyone else, it means letting somebody see the part of you that you normally hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s probably why a song written for a film ended up becoming much bigger than the film itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cIris\u201d is essentially about wanting another person to see who you really are, even if revealing yourself makes you vulnerable. Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik wrote it for the 1998 film City of Angels. And that context explains almost everything. In the film, Nicolas Cage plays an angel who falls in love with a human woman played by Meg Ryan. He faces an extraordinary choice: remain immortal. Or become human so he can experience life and love with her. \u201cIris\u201d is written from inside that emotional problem. Why does the song talk about wanting to be understood? Imagine being…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2683,2684,2293,43,316],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-4413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-goo-goo-dolls","tag-iris","tag-meaning","tag-music","tag-rock"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n