Something So Strong

Album

Crowded House

Label

Capitol Records

Genre

Dance-pop

Composer(s)

Neil Finn;Mitchell Froom

Entered Chart

May 2, 1987

Peak Date

Jul 25, 1987

Released

1 April 1987

Recorded

Capitol, Sunset Sound Factory (Los Angeles)

Catalog #

Capitol 5695

B-Side

I Walk Away

"Something So Strong" is Crowded House frontman Neil Finn's treatise on the power of love. It can make you weep and leave you cold, but it can also carry us away. Finn had been married to his wife Sharon for a few years by this point and their son Liam (who later joined the band) was a toddler. Neil certainly drew from his life experience in crafting the song, but it's not one he's cited as being intensely personal. He has a talent for hitting on universal themes in unique ways, which is what he did here. You can frame it and hang it on the wall. This song dates back to 1984, when Neil Finn wrote it and made a demo on a tape recorder in his bedroom. He was still in the band Split Enz, but when they split up in 1985, Finn and Split Enz drummer Paul Hester formed Crowded House. They made a more refined demo of the song to shop to record labels, and found a taker in Capitol. When they made the album in Los Angeles (living together in crowded conditions that inspired the band name), their producer, Mitchell Froom, made some significant changes. Finn had been living with the song for two years by this point but he knew Froom's suggestions were good ones - so good that he gave him a songwriting credit. For Finn, it was a lesson on keeping and open mind and letting go when something better presents itself. The song is very compact, with two quick verses, a tidy bridge ("I've been feeling so much older..."), and three repetitions of the very singable chorus: Something so strong Could carry us away Something so strong Could carry us today The whole thing runs just 2:51, which means every word has to count. It's one of the songs that earned Neil Finn many fans in the world of songwriting, as it hits a sweet spot of meaning and popular appeal. "Something So Strong" is part of Crowded House's self-titled debut album. The band is Australasian, forming when former Split Enz members Neil Finn and Paul Hester teamed with Nick Seymour. Finn is from New Zealand; Hester and Seymour from Australia. Thanks to Split Enz, they had a ready-made fanbase on their home continent, but the album proved popular worldwide. Different singles were released in various territories, but the big hit was "Don't Dream It's Over." "Something So Strong" was the follow-up and also did very well. Those two song ended up being the band's only significant hits in America, but in other parts of the world they had lots of others. The music video, directed by Evan English, is goofy fun, with the band hamming it up in a barn. In the end, Paul Hester's drum kit is hauled away on the back of a tractor - with Hester still on it! The lighthearted video has the same tone as Hester and Finn's videos with Split Enz, which always had a touch of humor.

Love can make you weep, it can make you run for cover
Roots that spread so deep, bring life to frozen ground

(Something so strong) could carry us away
(Something so strong) could carry us today

Turning in my sleep, love can leave you cold
The taste of jealousy, is like a lust for gold

(Something so strong) could carry us away
(Something so strong) could carry us today

(I've been) feeling so much older
(Frame me) and hang me on the wall
(I've seen) you fall into the same trap
(This thing) is happening to us all

(Something so strong) could carry us away
(Something so strong) could carry us today

(Something so strong)
(Something so strong)
(Something so strong)
Something something so strong