Dave Grohl recently opened up about his mother‘s passing on the ‘Song Exploder’ podcast. He talked about the time he spent with his mother, Virginia, leading up to her death in August 2022 and explained how he coped:
“I was with her for all of the time leading up to her passing. Every day during that period, I would write something on the guitar because I felt that if I didn’t have that release, I would explode. I would spend the day at the hospital and then try to translate it musically — with no clear intention of what I was trying to achieve. I was finding these chords and progressions that mirrored the way that I felt.”
Grohl’s Biggest Fear About His Mother’s Final Days
During that period, Grohl wrote ‘The Teacher’ from Foo Fighters’ new album, ‘But Here We Are.’ The lyrics of the track read, ‘Where will I wake up?’ which the frontman talked about by revealing the biggest fear he had during his mother’s last days:
“I think someone’s immediate reaction to seeing someone dying is to wish for them to wake up, but that’s not how it works. One of my greatest fears in life is that I would be gone when this happened — gone on the road, not present for this. I was there, and we were there together.”
New Foo Fighters Music Dedicated To Grohl’s Losses
Virginia Grohl’s death news came only a few months after Taylor Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room in Colombia. Because of that, Foo Fighters dedicated their first record since the drummer’s passing to both him and Grohl’s mother.
While the ‘But Here We Are’ packaging said, ‘For Virginia and Taylor,’ the band’s press release read:
“‘But Here We Are’ is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life.”
The 2023 album hit the shelves on June 2 via Roswell Records/RCA Records. Foo Fighters will continue to support it through 2024 with a world tour, kicking off on January 20 in New Zealand.
