With Arms Wide Open

"With Arms Wide Open"
Single by Creed
from the album Human Clay
B-side	"One", "Wash Away Those Years"
Released	April 24, 2000
Format	CD
Recorded	1998
Genre	Post-grunge
Length	4:35 (album version) 3:53 (radio version)
Label	Wind-up
Writer(s)	Scott Stapp Mark Tremonti
Producer	Ron Saint Germain John Kurzweg
Creed singles chronology
"What If" (2000) "With Arms Wide Open" (2000) "Are You Ready?" (2000)

"With Arms Wide Open" is a song composed by the band Creed, featured on the album Human Clay. Scott Stapp wrote the lyrics when he found out with great surprise that he was going to be a father. His son would be named Jagger. "With Arms Wide Open" was very popular and a huge success for the band the song topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks in July 2000; a month later it reached the U.S. Top 40. In September, it was announced that Creed would release a limited edition single of "With Arms Wide Open" with some profits benefiting Scott Stapp's With Arms Wide Open Foundation to "promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families". In October, the song hit the top ten and topped Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart for eight weeks. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated November 11 for one week, and the video topped VH1's top ten countdown in 2000. In February 2001, Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song was also nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, but lost to U2 for Beautiful Day. Three main versions of the song exist. One is the original album version. The second is the radio version, which adds additional hi-hat and drums, and also edits out the ending. The third is the video version (or "Strings Remix") which adds strings to the radio version.

Music video

The music video for "With Arms Wide Open" shows Scott Stapp alone on a hill during a thunderstorm, before meteors begin to shower down around him. Eventually he enters a tower, and jumps down to a cave below. Finally, he sings the last of the song on the peak of a mountain overlooking the sea. The video is interspersed with footage of the band performing amongst the thunderstorm. It was directed by Dave Meyers.

Maxi-Single Track Listing

1. "With Arms Wide Open (New Version)"
2. "Wash Away Those Years"
3. "One"
4. "With Arms Wide Open (Strings Version)"
5. "With Arms Wide Open (Video - Viewable on PC)"

Chart performance

Peak positions

Chart (2000)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs	1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
Canadian RPM Singles Chart	2
Canadian RPM Rock/Alternative Chart	1
German Singles Chart	2
Netherlands Singles Chart	5
Norwegian Singles Chart	6
Swiss Singles Chart	7
UK Singles Chart	3

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	36

Covers and parodies

• Staind covered this song.
• Parodies include "They'll Claw You Open," "When Bars Come Open," "With Blinds Wide Open,"[1] "With Legs Wide Open", and more.
• A parody of the song entitled "With Arms Wide Open (Literal Version)" is featured on Youtube in which the lyrics and vocals are changed to match the events in the song's music video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnLXzSNtQ8c
• Kentucky native folk-parody duo, Threat Level Midnight, wrote and recorded a reworded version of the song making light of a breast augmentation entitled "Cut Them Wide Open".
• Norwegian comedian Kristian Valen recorded a parody of the song, entitled "My Moms Wide Open". It featured a music video with an elderly woman running around the forest naked.
• Christian comedian Tim Hawkins wrote a parody of the song called "My Arms Are Broken."
• Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters recorded a humorous cover of the song in which he imitates Scott Stapp's distinctive voice.

External links

• Music Video
• [2]

Preceded by "I Disappear by Metallica	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single July 8, 2000 – July 29, 2000	Succeeded by "I Disappear" by Metallica
Preceded by "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down	Billboard Top 40 Mainstream number-one single October 28, 2000 (first run) November 11, 2000 – December 2, 2000	Succeeded by "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down "Independent Women Part I" by Destiny's Child
Preceded by "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" by Christina Aguilera	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single November 11, 2000	Succeeded by "Independent Women Part I" by Destiny's Child
Preceded by "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down	Canadian RPM Rock/Alternative 30 number-one single July 31, 2000	Succeeded by "Wonderful" by Everclear