The Pretender (Foo Fighters Song) - Composition

Composition

Dave Grohl first showcased the song, which had the working title "Silver Heart", during pre-production of Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, but the song did not see much development. According to producer Gil Norton, "The chorus was there, but the verse and the middle hadn't been written. Not to mention the song was much slower." During a ten day break from recordings in April 2007, Grohl listened to the monitor mixes and thought that the record needed another uptempo song, so he spent his time developing "Silver Heart". The band then recorded a demo for "The Pretender", which Norton approved, leading to the song getting a proper recording the following day.

Grohl described "The Pretender" as "a stomping Foo Fighters uptempo song, with a little bit of Chuck Berry in it." The song showcases the shifting dynamics which Grohl wanted to employ on Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, starting with a very stripped-down introduction, featuring Grohl on guitar and vocals along with a small string section. Then comes an escalating hard rock sound, interrupted by breakdowns and escalations in the bridge, including a repeat of the intro. Mixing engineer Rich Costey stated that making all these dynamics work, as well as balancing the instruments, was challenging, as Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins always want more focus on their instruments. The amount of guitar overdubs also worried Costey – "The guitars on 'The Pretender' are quite full on, with countermelodies and so forth, and they all tend to be in the same range, so it gets quite dense. The challenge of this type of mix is to retain the power of the track, yet define a space for everything. Handling the guitar balance was a slight chore, and in comparison the drums and vocals were quite easy."

Grohl has admitted that the Sesame Street song "One of These Things is not Like the Others" may have subconsciously influenced his writing of the song.