# Lightning Crashes

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{{Short description|1994 single by Live}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Lightning Crashes
| cover         = live_lightning_crashes.png
| alt           = 
| caption       = Artwork for European retail releases
| type          = single
| artist        = [Live](/source/Live_(band))
| album         = [Throwing Copper](/source/Throwing_Copper)
| released      = June 26, 1995<ref name="aus"/>
| recorded      = 
| studio        = 
| venue         = 
| genre         =
* [Alternative rock](/source/Alternative_rock)<ref>{{cite web|date=August 18, 2014|title=100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/08/100-best-alternative-rock-songs-1994-alt/l1ipolfkd92g4kc6k64o880c4g0/|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=[Spin](/source/Spin_(magazine))}}</ref>
* {{nowrap|[post-grunge](/source/post-grunge)<ref>{{cite web|last=Erickson|first=Anne|date=February 21, 2015|title=Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk celebrates 'Throwing Copper'|url=https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/02/20/live-ed-kowalczyk-interview/23774561/|access-date=October 20, 2020|website=[Lansing State Journal](/source/Lansing_State_Journal)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/list/best-post-grunge-songs/|title=50 Best Post-Grunge Songs|last=Graves|first=Wren|website=[Consequence](/source/Consequence_(publication))|date=May 20, 2024|access-date=April 1, 2025}}</ref>}}
* [pop rock](/source/pop_rock)<ref>{{cite web|last=Waldman|first=Scott|url=https://loudwire.com/best-pop-rock-songs-90s/|title=10 Best Pop-Rock Songs of the '90s|website=[Loudwire](/source/Loudwire)|date=April 3, 2020|access-date=March 19, 2022}}</ref>
| length        =
* 5:25 (album version)
* 4:24 (edit)
| label         = [Radioactive](/source/Radioactive_Records)
| writer        = Live
| producer      =
* [Jerry Harrison](/source/Jerry_Harrison)
* Live
| prev_title    = [I Alone](/source/I_Alone)
| prev_year     = 1994
| next_title    = [All Over You](/source/All_Over_You_(Live_song))
| next_year     = 1995
| misc         = {{External music video
 | type        = single
 | header      = Music videos
 | 1           = {{YouTube|xsJ4O-nSveg|"Lightning Crashes"}}
}}
}}

"'''Lightning Crashes'''" is a song by the American rock band [Live](/source/Live_(band)). It was serviced to US radio in January 1995<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Lightning+Crashes+by+Live&id=26153#gsc.tab=0|title=US charts}}</ref> as the third single from their second studio album, ''[Throwing Copper](/source/Throwing_Copper)''. Although the track was not released as a single in the United States, it received enough radio airplay to peak at {{abbr|No.|Number}} 12 on the ''[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))'' [Hot 100 Airplay](/source/Hot_100_Airplay) chart in 1995. The song also topped the ''Billboard'' [Album Rock Tracks](/source/Mainstream_Rock_(chart)) chart for 10 weeks and the [Modern Rock Tracks](/source/Alternative_Songs) chart for nine weeks. Internationally, the song reached No. 3 in Canada, No. 8 in Iceland, and No. 13 in Australia.

In 2021, ''Billboard'' ranked "Lightning Crashes" as the 70th-biggest hit in the history of the Mainstream Rock chart;<ref name="ABC-Shinedown">{{cite web|url=https://digital.abcaudio.com/news/shinedown-named-number-one-artist-billboards-40th-anniversary-mainstream-rock-chart|title=Shinedown named number-one artist on 'Billboard's' 40th anniversary Mainstream Rock chart|website=[ABC Audio](/source/ABC_Audio)|last=Johnson|first=Josh|date=June 3, 2021|access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Greatest-MR">{{cite magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603233707/https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-of-all-time-mainstream-rock-songs|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-of-all-time-mainstream-rock-songs|title=Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs|archive-date=June 3, 2021|access-date=November 11, 2023|url-status=live|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))}}</ref> the same publication ranked the song as the 22nd-biggest hit in the history of Alternative Airplay two years later.<ref name="Alt-35">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/alternative-airplay-chart-35th-anniversary-foo-fighters-all-time-low-rule-1235408126/|title=Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song|last=Rutherford|first=Kevin|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))|date=September 7, 2023|access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Greatest-Alt-2023">{{cite magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006001750/https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-alternative-songs/|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-alternative-songs/|title=Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs|archive-date=October 6, 2023|access-date=November 11, 2023|url-status=live|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))}}</ref>

==Song meaning==
The band dedicated the song to a high-school friend, Barbara Lewis, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/live/lightning-crashes|title=Lightning Crashes by Live|publisher=Songfacts|access-date=January 5, 2019}}</ref> Lead singer [Ed Kowalczyk](/source/Ed_Kowalczyk) said, "I wrote 'Lightning Crashes' on an acoustic guitar in my brother's bedroom shortly before I had moved out of my parents' house and gotten my first place of my own." Kowalczyk says that the video for "Lightning Crashes" has caused misinterpretations of the song's intent.
<blockquote>While the clip is shot in a home environment, I envisioned it taking place in a hospital, where all these simultaneous deaths and births are going on, one family mourning the loss of a woman while a screaming baby emerges from a young mother in another room. Nobody's dying in the act of childbirth, as some viewers think. What you're seeing is actually a happy ending based on a kind of transference of life.<ref>Scarisbrick, John.  "Lightning Strikes." ''Spin Magazine'', June 1995, p. 52.</ref></blockquote>
''[New York](/source/New_York_(magazine))'' magazine described the band as "deeply mystical" and claimed that the song was, "The story of a...connection between an old lady dying and a new mother at the moment of giving birth."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://live.cerf.net/live_new/HTML/articles/spin0695.html |title=Lightning Strikes |last=White |first=Timothy |website=live.cerf.net |access-date=February 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980425132048/http://live.cerf.net/live_new/HTML/articles/spin0695.html |archive-date=April 25, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{citation|author=Michael Hirschorn|title=[music]|pages=35|magazine=[New York](/source/New_York_(magazine))|date=September 1995}}</ref>
Just a few years before, Kowalczyk discovered the writings of Indian spiritualist [Jiddu Krishnamurti](/source/Jiddu_Krishnamurti), whose philosophy of living life from a place of selflessness and humility influenced the singer's songwriting process, as well as the band's creative philosophy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Healy |first=Ryan |title='Lightning Crashes': The Story Behind Live's Meditation on the Cycle of Life |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/live-lightning-crashes-story-behind-song/ |publisher=[UDiscover Music](/source/UDiscover_Music) |access-date=March 30, 2022 |date=September 24, 2021}}</ref>

==Composition==
The song is written in the key of [B major](/source/B_Major).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lightning Crashes by Live @ Song Key Finder |url=https://songkeyfinder.com/songs/8493/Live+Lightning+Crashes |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=songkeyfinder.com}}</ref> The identity of the female backing vocalist remains unknown.

==Track listings==
All songs were written by Live.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''Australian CD single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Lightning Crashes|year=1995|type=Australian CD single liner notes|publisher=[Radioactive Records](/source/Radioactive_Records)|id=RADS33257}}</ref>
# "Lightning Crashes" (edit) – 4:24
# "The Dam at Otter Creek" (bootleg) – 5:35
# "[Selling the Drama](/source/Selling_the_Drama)" (bootleg) – 3:35

'''European CD single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Lightning Crashes|year=1995|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Radioactive Records|id=rad 33574}}</ref>
# "Lightning Crashes" (edit) – 4:26
# "Lightning Crashes" (live at [Glastonbury](/source/Glastonbury_Festival) '95) – 5:21

'''European maxi-CD single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Lightning Crashes|year=1995|type=European maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=Radioactive Records|id=rad 33573}}</ref>
# "Lightning Crashes" (edit) – 4:26
# "Lightning Crashes" (live at Glastonbury '95) – 5:21
# "The Beauty of Gray" (bootleg, live on tour in late 1994) – 4:43
{{col-2}}
'''UK CD1'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Lightning Crashes|year=1995|type=UK CD1 liner notes|publisher=Radioactive Records|id=RAXTD 23}}</ref>
# "Lightning Crashes" – 5:25
# "The Beauty of Gray" (bootleg version, live on tour in late 1994) – 4:44
# "T.B.D." (acoustic version) – 3:49

'''UK CD2'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Lightning Crashes|year=1995|type=UK CD2 liner notes|publisher=Radioactive Records|id=RAXXD 23}}</ref>
# "Lightning Crashes" – 5:25
# "Lightning Crashes" (live at Glastonbury '95) – 5:16
# "White, Discussion" (live at Glastonbury '95) – 5:22

'''UK cassette single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Lightning Crashes|year=1995|type=UK cassette single sleeve|publisher=Radioactive Records|id=RAXC 23}}</ref>
# "Lightning Crashes" – 5:25
# "Lightning Crashes" (live at Glastonbury '95) – 5:16
{{col-end}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Lightning Crashes"
!Chart (1994–1995)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
{{single chart|Australia|13|artist=Live|song=Lightning Crashes|rowheader=true|refname="aus"}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|3|chartid=9008|artist=Live|song=Lightning Crashes|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|Iceland ([Íslenski Listinn Topp 40](/source/%C3%8Dslenski_listinn))<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timarit.is/page/2729520#page/n25/mode/2up|title=Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (25.6. '95 – 1.7. '95)|newspaper=[Dagblaðið Vísir](/source/DV_(newspaper))|language=is|page=26|date=June 24, 1995|access-date=October 1, 2019}}</ref>
|8
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands ([Dutch Top 40 Tipparade](/source/Dutch_Top_40))<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.top40.nl/tipparade/1996/week-2|title=Tipparade-lijst van week 2, 1996|publisher=[Dutch Top 40](/source/Dutch_Top_40)|language=nl|access-date=September 28, 2023}}</ref>
|13
|-
!scope="row"|Quebec Airplay ([ADISQ](/source/ADISQ))<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129063315/http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/palmares/2010-Anglo-Allophone/Anglo-Compilation_succes_ordre_alpha_interpretes.pdf|url=http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/palmares/2010-Anglo-Allophone/Anglo-Compilation_succes_ordre_alpha_interpretes.pdf|title=Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec|publisher=[BAnQ](/source/Biblioth%C3%A8que_et_Archives_nationales_du_Qu%C3%A9bec)|language=fr|access-date=11 September 2019|archive-date=29 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|align="center"|45
|-
{{single chart|Scotland|39|date=19960113|artist=Live|song=Lightning Crashes|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|33|date=19960113|artist=Live|song=Lightning Crashes|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardradiosongs|12|artist=Live|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|1|artist=Live|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|1|artist=Live|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardpopsongs|6|artist=Live|access-date=March 18, 2018|rowheader=true}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Lightning Crashes"
!Chart (1995)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/aBqgAcE.jpg|title=The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1995|publisher=[ARIA](/source/Australian_Recording_Industry_Association)|via=[Imgur](/source/Imgur)|access-date=August 13, 2016}}</ref>
|72
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.2840&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.2840.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.2840|title=RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995|magazine=[RPM](/source/RPM_(magazine))|via=[Library and Archives Canada](/source/Library_and_Archives_Canada)|access-date=May 1, 2019}}</ref>
|31
|-
!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timarit.is/page/2935413?iabr=on#page/n15/mode/2up|title=Árslistinn 1995|newspaper=Dagblaðið Vísir|language=is|page=25|date=January 2, 1996|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref>
|64
|-
!scope="row"|US Hot 100 Airplay (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1995/BB-1995-12-23.pdf#page=88|title=The Year in Music: Hot 100 Singles Airplay|magazine=Billboard|volume=107|issue=51|page=Y-32|date=December 23, 1995|access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref>
|30
|-
!scope="row"|US Album Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Year in Music: Hot Album Rock Tracks|magazine=Billboard|volume=107|issue=51|page=YE-76|date=December 23, 1995}}</ref>
|2
|-
!scope="row"|US Modern Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Year in Music: Hot Modern Rock Tracks|magazine=Billboard|volume=107|issue=51|page=YE-77|date=December 23, 1995}}</ref>
|6
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 40/Mainstream (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles|magazine=[Airplay Monitor](/source/Airplay_Monitor)|volume=3|issue=51|page=8|date=December 15, 1995}}</ref>
|22
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Lightning Crashes"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Live|title=Lightning crashes|type=single|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1994|certyear=2025|source=radioscope|access-date=12 August 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

==Release history==
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Release dates and formats for "Lightning Crashes"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row"|United States
|January 1995
|Radio
|rowspan="4"|[Radioactive](/source/Radioactive_Records)
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Lightning+Crashes+by+Live&id=26153#gsc.tab=0|title=US charts}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row"|Australia
|rowspan="2"|June 26, 1995
|CD
|rowspan="3"|<ref name="aus"/>
|-
!scope="row"|Europe
|{{hlist|CD|maxi-CD}}
|-
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
|January 2, 1996
|CD
|}

==In popular culture==
"Lightning Crashes" was used at the end of episode 3 of ''[Strange Luck](/source/Strange_Luck)'', "Last Chance".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVe7EGk2ia4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/bVe7EGk2ia4 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Strange Luck - Lightning Crashes - YouTube|publisher=[YouTube](/source/YouTube)}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It was also used at the beginning of the [season 4](/source/One_Tree_Hill_(season_4)) finale of ''[One Tree Hill](/source/One_Tree_Hill_(TV_series))'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oth-music.com/episode421.html|title=One Tree Hill Music – www.oth-music.com|website=www.oth-music.com|access-date=February 3, 2021}}</ref> as well as the ''[Yellowjackets (TV series)](/source/Yellowjackets_(TV_series))'' episode "Burial".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a43366087/yellowjackets-season-2-soundtrack-songs/|title='Yellowjackets' Season 2 Soundtrack|website=www.menshealth.com|access-date=June 22, 2023}}</ref> It was featured in the 2017 film ''[Kodachrome](/source/Kodachrome_(film))'' and is included as a track on its soundtrack album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/1W1CatTzkpWKj4AdkQ4Ck3|title=Kodachrome (Music From The Netflix Original Film|website=spotify.com|access-date=July 26, 2023}}</ref> The song is also sung by [Noah Reid](/source/Noah_Reid) in the second season of ''[Outer Range](/source/Outer_Range)''. In 2023 it was sung by Katie Robertson as Vanessa Latham at her husband's funeral in episode 2 of Australian crime comedy [Deadloch](/source/Deadloch).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.friendsoflive.com/ Official band website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811235849/https://friendsoflive.com/ |date=August 11, 2021 }}

{{Live (band)}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:1994 singles
Category:1994 songs
Category:Live (band) songs
Category:Music videos directed by Jake Scott (director)
Category:Radioactive Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Jerry Harrison
Category:Songs about death

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lightning Crashes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_Crashes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_Crashes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.