I Am a River

"I Am a River"
Promotional single by Foo Fighters
from the album Sonic Highways
Released	2015
Studio	Magic Shop (New York City)
Genre	Progressive rock [1]
Length	7:09
Label	Roswell RCA
Songwriters	Dave Grohl Pat Smear Taylor Hawkins Nate Mendel Chris Shiflett
Producers	Foo Fighters Butch Vig
Foo Fighters singles chronology
"Outside" (2015) "I Am a River" (2015) "Saint Cecilia" (2015)
Music video
"I Am a River" on YouTube

"I Am a River" is a song by the American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released on their 2014 album Sonic Highways .

Composition and lyrics

The song was written in New York, with lyrics talking about the "Intricate" ^[2] references to the city's musical history.

Reception

When reviewing Sonic Highways for Pitchfork, critic Stuart Berman wrote it was a "gaudy Macy’s Day Parade of a power ballad that, just when you think can’t get any more overblown, piles on a false ending and string-section finale". ^[3]

Live performances

It has only been played live twice, once during their performance at the Irving Plaza in New York in 2014 and again on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014. ^{[4] [5]}

Credits and personnel

Credits taken from the Sonic Highways liner notes: ^[6]

Foo Fighters

• Dave Grohl – lead vocal, guitar
• Taylor Hawkins – drums
• Nate Mendel – bass
• Pat Smear – guitar
• Chris Shiflett – guitar

Additional musicians

• Rami Jaffee – organ, piano, "space keys"
• Kristeen Young – background vocals
• Drew Hester – tambourine
• Tony Visconti – string arrangement
• Los Angeles Youth Orchestra – strings

Technical personnel

• Foo Fighters – production
• Butch Vig – production
• James Brown – recording engineer, mixing engineer
• Kabir Hermon – studio assistance
• Chris Shurtleff – studio assistance, orchestra coordinator

Charts

2014-2016 weekly chart performance for "I Am a River"

Chart (2014-2016)	Peak position
Finland Airplay (Radiosoittolista) [7]	61
Poland AirPlay Top (PSPI) [8]	25
UK Rock & Metal (OCC) [9]	15
US Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard) [10]	50

References

1. "Plateanmeldelse: Foo Fighters - «Sonic Highways»" . VG (in Norwegian). November 6, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
2. Blistein, Jon (2014-12-29). "Dave Grohl Details Stories Behind 'The River'" . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
3. Berman, Stuart. "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
4. Blistein, Jon (2014-12-19). "See Foo Fighters Lead an Orchestra on 'Tonight Show'" . Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
5. "Foo Fighters Tour Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
6. Sonic Highways (CD liner notes). Foo Fighters. New York City: RCA Records. 2014. 88843-09008-2.
7. "Foo Fighters - I Am a River". ifpi.fi. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
8. "Lista Przebojów Trójki". Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
9. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
10. "Foo Fighters Chart History (Mexico Ingles Airplay)". Billboard . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved June 28, 2025.

External links

I Am a River at Discogs (list of releases)