Foo Fighters' Chris Shiflett Shares New Song 'Long, Long Year' Inspired By 'Isolation' and 'Loneliness'

"The line 'It's been a long, long year' was rattling around my head for obvious reasons, but I framed it as a love song," said the Foo Fighters lead guitarist in a press statement

After a long, long year, Chris Shiflett has new music to share.

On Thursday, the Foo Fighters lead guitarist, 51, dropped the lyric video for his new single "Long, Long Year" ahead of its wide release on Friday.

Shiflett recorded "Long, Long Year" in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer Vance Powell and musicians including bassist Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs, drummer Julian Doro of Eagles of Death Metal, keyboardist Mike Webb, steel guitarist Luke Schneider and mandolinist/harmony vocalist Sierra Hull.

Chris Shiflett's new solo single "Long, Long Year"
Chris Shiflett. Courtesy of Artist

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee said he was initially inspired by feeling isolated amid the pandemic.

"The first thing I had for this song was the chorus, but I didn't wanna write a song specifically about COVID, so I kinda worked it into a sad love song," Shiflett told Consequence of Sound. "So the vibe on this one grew out of isolation, loneliness, and missing my normal life."

Chris Shiflett's new solo single "Long, Long Year"
Chris Shiflett. Jarrod Anthonee

"I spent a lot of time alone at my studio in LA during the first part of the lockdown just woodshedding tunes," said the musician in a press statement. "The line 'It's been a long, long year' was rattling around my head for obvious reasons, but I framed it as a love song."

"Long, Long Year" marks the first new song to be released by a member of Foo Fighters since drummer Taylor Hawkins died on March 25 in Bogotá, Colombia, shortly before a scheduled music festival performance after complaining of chest pains in his hotel. He was 50 years old.

Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters. Stephen Lovekin/Getty

"It's been a long, long year, ain't it?" Shiflett sings on the track.

The mid-tempo song also features sentimental lyrics such as "I watched your smile slowly start to fade when the daylight chased the stars away."

While writing "Long, Long Year," Shiflett also said he was inspired by '90s alternative music — coincidentally the era during which Foo Fighters formed in Seattle in 1994.

Chris Shiflett's new solo single "Long, Long Year"
Chris Shiflett. Jarrod Anthonee

"Overall the vibe in my head was pretty '90s, like '90s soft alt-pop roots or something," he told Consequence of Sound. "It just felt like something that maybe woulda been on the radio in 1997."

"Long, Long Year" is the first of two new standalone singles to come this year from Shiflett, according to Consequence of Sound.

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