Iris (Goo Goo Dolls Song) - Origins and Theme

Origins and Theme

The instrumentals in the song are heavily driven by guitar riffs, mandolin, violins, and cellos, with a steady drum beat beneath. The acoustic guitar in the song gives a distinctive sound as it is in an odd tuning, with 5 of the 6 strings tuned to D. This gives a ringing effect similar to a twelve-string guitar.

John Rzeznik was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and the end product was "Iris". This song propelled the band to stardom, as it stayed on top of Billboard Hot 100 Airplay charts for a record-breaking 18 weeks, and was nominated for three Grammys that year. According to several interviews with Rzeznik, he was experiencing serious bouts of writer's block when he was approached, and was on the verge of quitting the band days before he wrote the song that would launch the band to worldwide fame. Iris is set to re-enter the UK charts at number 1, following performances by two X Factor finalists, which has helped to put the band back into the consciousness of the British public.


The song was named "Iris" by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik for ]]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Rzeznik found an article about her written by Daniel Levitin while flipping through an issue of Billboard, and thought she had a nice name, and thus chose it for the song title. Despite the title, the word 'Iris' is not heard in the lyrics.

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