“Drops of Jupiter”: the moving story behind the Hit of the Train

The summer of 2001 had the sweet taste of unconsciousness. A world that seemed immobile in his happiness, unaware of what would only happen a few months later, in New York. Italian radios repeated a hypnotic song entitled “Xono” of a young man with beautiful hopes, while in the world 4 holograms dominated the charts with a piece entitled “Clint Eastwood”. And then there were them, i TrainBand of San Francisco who in July of that year published a song destined to make it immortal: “Drops of Jupiter “.

Their homonymous debut album, released in 1998, had already guaranteed a certain following in the States, but something more needed. Something that left its mark. That song would come, but not from an obsessive search for the perfect hit, but from a dream. A dream that had the roots in the deepest pain.

From mourning to the dream that inspired “Drops of Jupiter”

1998. The frontman Pat Monahan He is on tour with the band. The dream of every musician. But not his, not at that moment. Away from home, away from the motherwhich at that time was fighting a very hard battle against lung cancer. At the time, no smartphones, no video call. Only calls during travel to hear his voice, to steal a few more words.

December arrives. A phone call, of those you would never have wanted to receive. Few words. And an impossible void to fill.

The pain was excruciating, but life does not wait. A few months later the towers were again at work on the new album. The songs were there, the label was satisfied, but the spark was missing. The piece that would detonate everything was missing. And then Monahan took a break. He returned to his childhood home in Pennsylvania, looking for something, without knowing what. It was there that it happened.

One night, a dream.

Her mother was there, but not as she remembered it. He float in space, crossed worlds, fell like rain from Jupiter. Upon awakening, a fixed sentence in the head: “Now She’s Back In The Atmosphere”. Now she has returned to the atmosphere. Very powerful words, which certainly could not ignore. So, he started writing.

Monahan imagined a dialogue with the spirit of the mother, a conversation suspended between earth and sky. “Have you traveled through the sun? Did you cross the Milky Way? Is Paradise really so overrated?”. Questions full of wonder and nostalgia, but also spirituality. A son who seeks answers from his mother among the stars.

Years later, in an interview with Vh1, Monahan told that moment with words that still resonate very strong: “The loss of the most important person of my life did not stop tormenting me. I thought: what if no one ever really gone? And if it were still here, in a different form?”.

The prophecy of the Grammy

The song was ready. Now only someone who believed it was needed. Monahan presented himself in the offices of the Columbia Records with a demo engraved on tape. He was not sure he had the center, but the president of the label Donnie Iennerone who understood us a little bit of a little bit.

“With this at least you win a Grammy“, he said.

It was not an exaggeration. Columbia asked the train to record it immediately to be able to enter the album that, in reality, had already been closed. Not only that: he also suggested to title his own album “Drops of Jupiter “. And in the end, Grammy really came. Indeed, two: one like “Best Rock song”, the other for the “best arrangement”.

On the stage of the award ceremony, Monahan dedicated the prize to the mother. The most exciting moment? The live execution of the song, enriched by an introduction to the cello of Denise Djokic and an orchestral arrangement that further amplified the emotional impact of the song.

Hidden interpretations and secrets

Meanwhile, “Drops of Jupiter” had already conquered the world. Still, its origin remained wrapped in mystery. Monahan, in interviews, preferred not to immediately reveal the meaning of the text, leaving room for different interpretations. And, as often happens for great songs, each one interpreted it in his own way.

Many read the story of a lost love in the text. A dialogue between two former lovers, with her returns after a long journey. Others saw her as the path of a man looking for himself, an inner odyssey between stars and distant galaxies.

Then there was that enigmatic phrase: “Someone who does not have an indelible scar“. A reference, in reality, to a very concrete wound: A scar on the chin that Monahan had got to a car accident shortly before.

Cover, absurd anecdotes and … wines

Over the years, the song has become a classic, reinterpreted by numerous artists. Among the most famous covers, those of Sebastian, Judy Collins And K! D B. Without forgetting Taylor Swiftthat in his Speak Now World Tour From 2011 he often inserted it into the lineup, giving her new life. And then there is the most surreal episode.

Christmas 2009. Charlie Sheen is arrested for domestic violence. Reason for the dispute with his wife Brooke Mueller? Second US Magazineeverything would be born right from “Drops of Jupiter”. Sheen had told how much she loved to share that song with her daughter, unleashing the jealousy of wife: “Do you have a special song with your daughter, but not with me?“. Monahan’s reaction to the news was lapidary: “I prefer to see her as a positive part of the relationship between Sheen and her daughter“.

And finally, a curious detail: the train launched a line of wines, each with the name of their hit. “Drops of Jupiter” became a red wine, flanked by the Pinot Nero “Soul Sister” and the Chardonnay “Calling All Angels”.

Music is made of sounds, of course, but also of stories, connections and cultural revolutions, small or large. In my articles I try to tell her like this: with love, attention to detail and a immoderate passion for anecdotal. Because behind each song there is a part of the universe that moves. Storytelling as an approach to criticism and the musical story. My greatest source of inspiration, in this sense, is Federico Buffa.
My name is Marco BrunassoI have always dealt with music (and I have been writing for some years), exploring artists, records and movements that I consider irresistible and interesting. Some of my articles have already been published on Rockit and Techprincess (For the latter portal I created a storytelling column called Inside the song). For a few days I have co-founded an online magazine called Eye on hypeand I am founder, singer and bassist of the Indie-Rock band Lehavre.