For more than two decades, Switchfoot have released several major hits, gone on a number of world tours and sold millions of albums. The San Diego based band gained massive fame after four of their songs were used as soundtracks for the 2002 romantic drama, A Walk to Remember. Although they are commonly referred to as a Christian band and their records feature in Christian radio and charts, they like to be diverse and they don’t like restricting themselves in any genre boxes. Over the years, the band has become quite popular mostly for their energetic displays during live performances.
The band has released 12 albums since their inception, with their 2011 album, Hello Hurricane scooping a Grammy Award for Best Rock and Gospel Album. If you want to listen to music that celebrates the beauty of life and humanity while also glorifying God, you might want to check out some of these great Switchfoot songs. Here is our list of the top ten Switchfoot songs.
10. Say it Like You Mean It
“Say It Like You Mean It” is the fourth track from Switchfoot’s 2014 album, Fading West. The track features some incredible drumming from Chad Butler and the vocals and guitars feel a little distorted. It’s one of those Switchfoot songs that you will appreciate more after seeing the band perform them live.
9. Always
The number nine track on our list is one of the few songs that Jon Foreman wrote on a piano during the 2008 Christmas period. The track is contained in the band’s 2010 album, Hello Hurricane and is the album’s leading single along with, “Mess of Me.” The track peaked at position 25 on the US Billboard Christian Songs and was nominated for a Dove Award in the Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year category in 2010. The track has als been used as a soundtrack for several TV Shows such as The Hills and Grey’s Anatomy.
8. Float
Switchfoot’s 2016 album, Where the Light Shines Through marked a change of style in how the band wrote its music and this song was evidence. Although the track is a pleasant listen, especially the warm harmonies in the chorus, the lyricism wasn’t quite what we had come to expect from the band. The song was a dedication to a guy named Jeremy who helped families in Iraq who were victims of ISIS attacks. At the end of each day of helping these families, Jeremy would go back to his house and listen to music that gave him hope and encouragement that he needed. This song was a dedication to Jeremy to listen to it after a hard day’s work.
7. Dark Hoses
In essence, a dark horse in a competition is a little known contender that goes against the odds and performs well in a competition. “Dark Horses” was a song meant to capture the tenacious spirit of young people who the band had interacted with during benefit concert events for the charity organization, Stand Up For Kids. “Dark Horses,” is the first single from the band’s 2011 album, Vice Versus.
6. Mess of Me
Initially, this song was meant to be titled, “I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning.” The track’s initial track had a different sound which was more punk, although it retained the opening riff until the track’s final version. “Mess of Me” is one of the band’s most popular tracks and is a must play during their live sets. The track talks about the imperfections in people’s lives and their desire to improve their lives as heard in the line, “I wanna spend the rest of my life alive.” The song also points out that the problems can only be fixed by oneself and not through drugs and other earthly things.
5. I Won’t Let You Go
The number five track on our list of the greatest Switchfoot songs is also one of their most emotional ones. You cannot listen to this track and not feel emotions stirring up within you. The track, which was originally released in 2016 from the album, Where The Light Shines Through is a song that faces darkness in one’s life head on. The track features some great melodies and lyrics that will drive you towards the hope that you are craving for.
4. Dare You To Move
Jon Foreman once described this song as the defining song for the band. The song was a personal message to Jon himself urging him to keep moving forward and never remain stagnant in life. The song was ranked position 73 on Rhapsody’s list of the Top 100 Tracks of the Decade and even before the band had released the song, they knew that it was a powerful track. The track is used as a soundtrack in the hit TV series, One Tree Hill and it was the band’s second top 20 single after the track, “Meant to Live.”
3. Ammunition
In a 2015 interview with ThoughtCo, Jon Foreman said that this song was one of his favorite songs to play online. The track was released in 2003 from the album, The Beautiful Letdown and earned the band a GMA Dove Award for the Rock Recorded Song of the Year in 2004. The guitar tones and the chorus are absolutely lovely and the track is one of the Switchfoot’s most underrated songs in my opinion.
2. Your Love Is a Song
The idea of this song came to Jon Foreman while he was at a grocery store near his home in San Diego. The song is an expression of God’s undying love which can be felt through music but cannot be touched literally. The track spent 15 weeks on the Adult Pop Songs Chart, peaking at position 27. “Your Love Is a Song” is one of those tracks that will remind you of God’s love anytime you are going through hard times.
1. Meant to Live
“Meant to Live” is arguably Switchfoot’s most commercially successful single of all time. The three minutes and twenty five seconds track talks about the choices that we make and later come to regret about. The song contains some catchy lyrics and powerful guitars that make the song fit right in the modern rock genre and as a christian alternative rock song. “Meant to Live,” is the first single on the album, The Beautiful Letdown and is widely credited for helping the band achieve mainstream success. The track peaked at position five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified gold by the RIAA.
Feature Photo: IllaZilla, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
