The Foo Fighters have recently been going through a lot of painful changes. Taylor Hawkins’ passing in 2022 forever changed things for them, not just because of the pain of losing a very close friend, but also as a very strong creative force that defined the Foo Fighters‘ sound. They hired Josh Freese for their tour of their latest album, But Here We Are,but ultimately it didn’t work out.
Dave Grohl, in particular, found it incredibly hard to move forward after the death of his closest friend. The bad leader wrote several songs on the latest album about his late friend, and at every Foo Fighters show since then, he has dedicated Hawkins’ favorite song, “Aurora“, to him. But that wasn’t the first time Grohl dedicated a song to his best friend. Before his tragic passing, Hawkins had a near-death experience that heavily impacted Grohl, and he turned it into a “love song” for his friend.
Taylor Hawkins’ Near-Fatal Overdose Inspired Dave Grohl’s Most Emotional Song
In 2001, the Foo Fighters took a harsh blow when drummer Taylor Hawkins overdosed during a European tour. The drummer was struggling with substance abuse and admitted in the Foo Fighters‘ documentary, Back and Forth, that he was confused about what being a “rock star” entailed, leading to him acting like the mythical rock gods he admired. He wound up in the hospital in London, and the whole band, but especially Dave Grohl, were devastated.
Hawkins was in a coma for two weeks, and Grohl stayed by his bedside for most of the time. He explained in the documentary that he felt “helpless” and like he wouldn’t be able to continue with his music career if Hawkins didn’t wake up. Grohl was by his friend’s side when he woke up, and said he knew that everything would be okay when he tried to comfort him, and the drummer responded “f*** off!”
When speaking about the two weeks Hawkins was in a coma, Grohl admitted that it brought too many bad memories. Let’s not forget that Grohl was the drummer of Nirvana and had to live through his bandmate and close friend, Kurt Cobain, committing suicide. So, at the time, he felt somewhat cursed, as if it was a sign that he shouldn’t continue making music.
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“When Taylor wound up in the hospital, I was ready to quit music,” Grohl shared in an interview with The Guardian.“Because, to me, it felt like music equaled death.”
“I started praying. I’ve never been to church in my life, and I’m walking back from Taylor’s hospital to our hotel every night, praying out loud in the streets of London. I don’t even know if I believe in God. But I felt like, y’know, this is just not right, y’know, what kind of God would let this…”
Despite feeling like this, while Grohl was waiting and praying for his friend to wake up, he turned to music for comfort. During those two weeks, he started writing a song about what he was experiencing that eventually came out four years later. This song was incredibly emotional at the time, but it’s especially heartbreaking now.
What Dave Grohl’s “On the Mend” Really Means
Even without knowing the story, the song On the Mend, from the acoustic side of the 2005 double album In Your Honor, can bring up strong emotions. The chorus whispers, “I’m here, and I’m on the mend, my friend.” Grohl wrote it while keeping vigil at Hawkins’ bedside, and during a bonus scene from the Back and Forth documentary, he explained how he wrote it and admitted he would never talk to his best friend directly about it.
“I don’t know if Taylor knows this: there’s a song on the acoustic record called On the Mend that I wrote while he was in a coma from an overdose,” he shared. It’s about Taylor. “I’ve never told him it’s about him.”
“It’s my love song to a dying best friend.”
Grohl added that he was nervous about adding it to the album because he knew that Hawkins would accurately assume it was about him. Which, of course, he did, even if the frontman never explicitly told him. He said they never “even got close to having that conversation.” However, even though they never had that conversation, the meaning couldn’t have been clearer. And while the sentiment was clearly noble, Hawkins wasn’t too happy about the song. “I don’t want to know that s***. I really don’t,” he said after Grohl revealed that the song was about him. It was a horrible time in his life, and he wished it hadn’t been immortalized in song. “Some things are better left unsaid, as far as I’m concerned. It’s sweet, I suppose, but I could have gone my whole life without knowing it.“
In 2022, this song took on a whole new meaning. On March 25, right before a concert in Bogotá, Colombia, Hawkins called for emergency services due to chest pains, but by the time they arrived at his hotel room, the drummer had already passed away. A toxicology report later revealed that he had 10 different substances in his system, including opioids and antidepressants.
His loss devastated the band, and Dave Grohl was wrecked by grief. The next year, the Foo Fighters put out their first album without Hawkins, But Here We Are, and the record, dedicated to the late drummer, has countless tributes. In the song “The Glass“, Grohl sings, “I had a person I love – And just like that – I was left to live without him.” In “Under You”, he promises, “Pictures of us sharing songs and cigarettes – This is how I’ll always picture you.” And finally, in the last song, “Rest”, he says goodbye with, “Rest, you can rest now – Rest, you will be safe now.” Three years after Hawkins’ passing, the Foo Fighters are still trying to find their footing, but they are still committed to sticking together to honor their friend and keep the band going.
