The Crow & the Butterfly

"The Crow & the Butterfly" is the fifth single by the rock band Shinedown from their 2008 album The Sound of Madness. The song was written by Shinedown lead singer Brent Smith. The song was introduced in 2007, in an acoustic session on The Buckethead Show.^[1]

"The Crow & the Butterfly - EP" was released on iTunes on July 27, 2010, which included the original song, "The Crow & the Butterfly (Pull Mix)", the music video for the song, and a digital booklet.

Song meaning

Brent Smith explained on a radio interview program, Rockline, that while the band was writing the new album, he had a dream about a mother whose son passes away. He wrote the song about the mother dealing with the death of her child and trying to move on.^[2]

On a blog on the Shinedown website, Brent Smith said this about the song: "For me lyrically this was one of the most intense stories I have ever written. But I know the song means something different to everyone."^[3]

Music video

Brent Smith said this about a possible "The Crow & the Butterfly" video:

"We are in the process of reading through video treatments for the song, and I have to admit we have been so busy with the current tour we are on, and putting everything together for "The Carnival of Madness," we haven't even gotten a chance to ask all of you what you think about the song, and also what kind of video you would like to see from us."

The music video for "The Crow & the Butterfly" was shot on June 24, 2010, which happens to be the 2nd anniversary of The Sound of Madness. A photo was published of the set, which appeared to be a large room in a mansion.^[4] On July 17, 2010, the music video premiered on Yahoo Music. The video begins with the band playing on a stage while a group of mysterious people wearing their black clothes eating dinner and putting their silverware down. Then, a woman with a black mascara teardrop on her eyes comes in and sees the people finishing their dinner. During the dance scene and the chorus, the girl decided to go through the people while searching for a boy. During the bridge, she was too late to find him and she found the man who walked closer to her while transforming as the band. He gives the girl the locket and whispered in her ears. The video ends with the boy and the band walking away into the light while the girl stares at the camera.^[5]

The music video debuted on Fuse Top 20 Countdown at #18 on July 23, 2010, and on VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown at #20 on July 31, 2010.

Chart performance

"The Crow & the Butterfly" peaked on the Billboard Rock Songs chart at #1. It was Shinedown's first single to rank at #1 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart. It is also #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, thus making The Sound of Madness the second album ever to have four singles topping the chart, after The Black Crowes' The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in 1992. The song has also made appearances on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, debuting at #97, and U.S. Alternative Songs, peaking at #6.

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Canadian Hot 100^[6]	51
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[6]	97
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs^[6]	1
U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs^[6]	6

End of year charts

Charts (2010)	Position
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs^[7]	14
U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs^[8]	36

References

Preceded by "Let Me Hear You Scream" by Ozzy Osbourne	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single July 31, 2010	Succeeded by "Another Way to Die" by Disturbed
Preceded by "The Good Life" by Three Days Grace "Lay Me Down" by Dirty Heads feat. Rome Ramirez	Billboard Rock Songs number-one single July 17, 2010 July 31, 2010 - August 14, 2010	Succeeded by "Lay Me Down" by Dirty Heads feat. Rome Ramirez "The Catalyst" by Linkin Park

Shinedown

Brent Smith Barry Kerch Zach Myers Eric Bass Jasin Todd Brad Stewart Nick Perri

Studio albums	Leave a Whisper Us and Them The Sound of Madness Amaryllis Threat to Survival

EPs	Shinedown EP iTunes Session Acoustic Sessions

Singles	"Fly from the Inside" "45" "Simple Man" "Burning Bright" "Save Me" "I Dare You" "Heroes" "Devour" "Second Chance" "Sound of Madness" "If You Only Knew" "The Crow & the Butterfly" "Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)" "Bully" "Unity" "Enemies" "I'll Follow You" "Adrenaline" "Cut the Cord" "State of My Head"

Music DVDs	Live from the Inside Somewhere in the Stratosphere

Related articles	Discography

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