Broken Arrows (song) explained

Broken Arrows
Cover:Broken Arrows single cover artwork.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Avicii
Album:Stories
Length:3:52
Label:Universal Music
Producer:Avicii
Prev Title:For a Better Day
Prev Year:2015
Prev Title2:Pure Grinding
Next Title:Taste the Feeling
Next Year:2016

"Broken Arrows" is a 2015 single by Avicii featuring uncredited vocals from Zac Brown of American country music group Zac Brown Band, released on Universal Music.[1] [2] [3] The track appears on his album Stories.[4]

Composition

"Broken Arrows" combines Brown's vocals with "thumping bass and twinkling synth lines".[5]

Like one of Avicii's previous singles, "Hey Brother", "Broken Arrows" is a dance song containing elements of country music. It is written in the key of G major.[5]

Reception

"Broken Arrows" received positive reviews from critics. Chris Parton of Rolling Stone described Brown's vocals as "crystal-clear" and the song's hook as "a cross between a game-show theme song and something from Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers",[5] while Marcus K. Dowling noted similarities between this song and the Kenny Rogers song The Gambler in a review for Insomniac.[6]

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Julius Onah.[7] It was released on 23 November 2015. It is inspired by the life of Dick Fosbury, who revolutionized the high jump by introducing a new technique known as the Fosbury Flop.[8]

The music video starts with the caption: "Inspired by a True Story" and is located in Fairmont, a fictitious location in California in 1967, where a struggling athlete lives alone with his daughter in a trailer. The athlete is chastised by his trainer for not achieving enough on the field. The athlete is shown descending into alcoholism and despair. But the athlete is inspired again by his daughter's zeal and acrobatics to invent a new technique in jumping, leading to a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Although talking about Fosbury, the video displays however a newspaper clipping, attributing it to a fictional American high jump Olympic athlete named Richard Radomsky in the video.[9] The athlete also has Avicii's signature AV sign tattooed on his back.

The role of Richard Radomsky is played by Joshua Fredric Smith, and his daughter is played by Emily Skinner. Richard Neil plays the coach in the video.[10]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015–16)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Belgium Dance (Ultratip Wallonia)1
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (2015)! scope="col"
Position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 88
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[13] 82
Chart (2016)Position
Hungary (Dance Top 40)[14] 86
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[15] 14
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[16] 79

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Avicii Premieres 'Stories' Zac Brown Band Collaboration "Broken Arrows". Music. Times. 1 July 2015. MusicTimes.com. 30 June 2017.
  2. Web site: New Avicii Single \"Broken Arrows\" featuring Zac Brown Band. 1 July 2015. EDM Chicago. 30 June 2017. 4 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171004035858/http://edmchicago.com/2015/07/01/new-avicii-single-broken-arrows-featuring-zac-brown-band/. dead.
  3. Web site: Listen to Avicii's New Collab with Zac Brown Band, 'Broken Arrows'. Billboard.com. 30 June 2017.
  4. Web site: Stories - Avicii. . 2 October 2015 .
  5. Web site: Hear Zac Brown Band and Avicii's Sparkling 'Broken Arrows'. 1 July 2015. RollingStone.com. 30 June 2017.
  6. Web site: Dowling . Marcus . October 2, 2015 . Avicii 'Stories': A Track-by-Track Review . June 1, 2022 . Insomniac.
  7. Web site: Avicii - Broken Arrows (2015) - IMVDb. 23 November 2015. IMVDb. 30 June 2017.
  8. Stutz. Colin. Avicii Releases Inspirational New 'Broken Arrows' Video: Watch. 1 December 2015. Billboard. 23 November 2015.
  9. https://edmtopics.wordpress.com/2015/11/24/avicii-tells-a-new-story-with-broken-arrows/ EDM Topics: Avicii tells a new story with “Broken Arrows”
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5265586/ IMDb.com: Avicii: Broken Arrows (2015)
  11. Web site: NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart . . 2 November 2015 . 30 October 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121010070815/http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles . 10 October 2012 .
  12. Web site: Årslista Singlar – År 2015. Sverigetopplistan. Swedish. 6 October 2019.
  13. Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2015. Billboard. 21 August 2019.
  14. Web site: Dance Top 100 - 2016. 6 October 2019. Mahasz.
  15. Web site: Rádiós Top 100 - hallgatottsági adatok alapján - 2016. 6 October 2019. Mahasz.
  16. Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2016. Billboard. 21 August 2019.