The Stone (Ashes Divide song)

"The Stone"
Single by Ashes Divide
from the album Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
Released	January 22, 2008 (Radio) [1]
Recorded	2007
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	3:49
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Billy Howerdel
Producer(s)	Billy Howerdel
Ashes Divide singles chronology
"The Stone" (2008) "Poison Flowers" (2022)

"The Stone" is a song by American band Ashes Divide and is their debut single from their debut album Keep Telling Myself It's Alright , which was released on April 8, 2008. The music video for the song was released in March.

Background

"The Stone" is actually derived from a song done by Billy Howerdel during his time in A Perfect Circle. An instrumental named "Army" has many similarities with this song. It was done during demo sessions that yielded material from their first album, Mer de Noms . It apparently wasn't deemed a fit for A Perfect Circle music, so Billy re-worked it on his own for years until it appeared in this form. ^[2]

Howerdel said he had most of the verses written, but was stuck on the chorus, so he reached out to Johnette Napolitano, singer of Concrete Blonde, who wrote a few lines in the chorus, adding a "maternal" touch to it, according to Howerdel. ^[3]

On the lyrics, Howerdel said, "It's this push-pull of protection, feeling the need or want to protect your loved ones in a way, but not being worthy enough with yourself to accept that same protection, that same kind of love. A lot of these songs are dealing with pushing people away, with not loving yourself enough to let somebody love you." ^[3]

Track listing

1. "The Stone" - 3:49

Chart performance

"The Stone" garnered attention from U.S. rock radio stations and has been regularly played on the airwaves. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. ^{[4] [5]}

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)	7
U.S. Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)	10

References

1. "Afternoon Fix: Celebrity Birthdays, the 'First Sunday' Movie Minute, the latest news, and more". MTV News . 2008-01-09. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
2. "Guitar Interactive Magazine".
3. Pinfield, Matt (February 8, 2008). "An Introduction to ASHES dIVIDE (The Stone)". Daily Motion . Retrieved December 19, 2021.
4. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, as of April 1, 2008
5. Hot Modern Rock Tracks, as of April 1, 2008