Dave Grohl Wrote ‘Waiting on a War’ After His Daughter Asked Him: ‘Dad, Is There Going to Be a War?’
It turns out Dave Grohl‘s daughter is the reason the Foo Fighters song “Waiting on a War” exists. The Foo Fighters released “Waiting on a War” on their 2021 album Medicine at Midnight. In an interview with NPR, Grohl discussed his music career and revealed that his daughter asking him a question inspired him to write the song.
Dave Grohl’s daughter inspired him to write ‘Waiting on a War’
The Foo Fighters released “Waiting on a War” as a single on Jan. 14, 2021. The song was then on the band’s album Medicine at Midnight, which dropped on Feb. 5, 2021.
In a 2021 interview with NPR, Grohl discussed his career and the songs on Medicine at Midnight. When asked about “Waiting on a War,” Grohl said the song’s inspiration was personal.
“When I was young, I had this fear of war that might have had something to do with living so close to Washington, D.C. I always imagined that if there was going to be a war, that we would be the first people to get hit by the missiles,” Grohl told NPR.
The musician then explained that a question his daughter asked him inspired the creation of “Waiting on a War.”
“And then one day, I was taking my daughter to school and she turned to me and she said, ‘Dad, is there going to be a war?’ And I was shocked. At the time, I think there was maybe something going on with North Korea. And I immediately realized that she was living under that same, sort of, hopeless cloud that I lived under when I was her age. But this is 40 years later,” Grohl said.
He continued: “And it kind of broke my heart. You know, kids are supposed to have these imaginative, impressionable, beautiful, formative experiences at this age — not fear of war. And I wrote that song, ‘Waiting on a War,’ that day.”
Dave Grohl says his daughters are ‘musically inclined’
Grohl has three children with his wife, Jordyn Blum. Speaking with NPR, Grohl praised his kids for having musical talent, calling them “musically inclined.”
“My daughter, Violet, she’s 14 years old. She has absolute perfect pitch. She has a photographic memory. And when it comes to any sort of arrangement or composition or pattern, she can memorize them immediately,” Grohl told NPR.
He added: “And one day, my daughter Harper comes up to me and she says, ‘Dad, I want to be a drummer.’ … And I sat her down at the drum set with a pair of sticks and, you know, by the end of the day, she was playing along to an AC/DC record. So, they are musically inclined.”
The rock star’s daughter sang on the album ‘Medicine at Midnight’
On Medicine at Midnight, Grohl’s daughter Violet has a background vocal credit. In the interview with NPR, Grohl shared how his daughter ended up on the album.
“We didn’t record this record in the studio; we recorded it in an old house, down the street from where I live. I would pick up Violet on the way home from school, and we’d come to this house. She’d sit on the couch and do her homework,” Grohl began.
The musician continued: “And one day Greg Kurstin, our producer, knowing her ability, said, ‘Hey, Violet, do you want to put a vocal on something?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So she stepped in front of the mic and did a couple takes. And that was a song called ‘Making a Fire,’ the first song on the record.”
