Chasing Cars

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"Chasing Cars"

Single by Snow Patrol
from the album Eyes Open
Released	July 24, 2006 (UK)
Format	CD single; 7"
Recorded	2005
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	4:27
Label	Interscope
Producer(s)	Jacknife Lee
Certification	Platinum (US) Silver (UK)
Chart positions
#1 (Australia, Singapore) #2 (Canada) #3 (Belgium, Latvia) #4 (New Zealand) #5 (U.S., Switzerland) #6 (UK) #8 (Germany, Spain) #10 (Austria) #24 (Netherlands) #54 (Poland) #59 (Slovakia) #67 (Mexico)
Snow Patrol singles chronology
"Hands Open" (2006)	"Chasing Cars" (2006)	"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" (2006)

"Chasing Cars" is the third single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was released on July 24, 2006 in the United Kingdom, as the album's second single. "Chasing Cars" gained significant popularity in the United States after being featured on the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy. It became notable as one of the songs which revealed the impact of legal downloads on single sales in the UK. The song is Snow Patrol's biggest-selling single to date, and ended 2006 as the UK's fourteenth best-selling single of the year.^[1]

1 History
2 Formats and track listings
3 Chart performance
4 References

[edit] History

The song was first heard on the band's 2005 Final Straw tour, when they began playing it, along with two other newly written songs ("Your Halo" and "It's Beginning to Get to Me") they intended to release on their upcoming album. Since then, the composition of the song was changed slightly, and most of the lyrics were rewritten.

Gary Lightbody, frontman of Snow Patrol, says it is the "most pure and open love song [he's] ever written." The phrase "Chasing Cars" came from Lightbody's father, in reference to a girl Lightbody was infatuated with, "You're like a dog chasing a car. You'll never catch it and you wouldn't know what to do with it if you did."^[2]

"Chasing Cars" pushed its way onto the download and pop charts in the United States after it was heard in the second season finale of the popular television show Grey's Anatomy on May 15, 2006. Owing to the song's surprise popularity, it was released as an overlapping single in early June and the video was re-recorded to include clips from the show. The video failed to catch on, regardless, so a third version was filmed for the edited single version of the song. On September 13, 2006, the song soared in the digital music charts to become the most-downloaded song in the U.S. iTunes Store, just one day after the DVD release of the second season of Grey's Anatomy.

The song originally entered the UK Singles Chart in July 2006. It was selling well, but dropped out of the chart after the CD version of the single was removed from stores. Downloaded sales remained high, however, and the track was selling enough copies to remain in the top 20 of the charts. ^[3] After chart rules were changed in January 2007 to allow all downloaded songs to enter the charts - whether or not there was also a physical copy of the song available, "Chasing Cars" re-entered the chart at number 9. ^[4]

The band played "Chasing Cars" on a recent appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Additionally, it was the last live performance on long-running British music program Top of the Pops.

A trance version of the song was recently remixed by Blake Jarrell & Topher Jones. It aired on the highly popular trance radio show A State of Trance on August 17, 2006. ^[5]

Interestingly, the 7" single version of the song plays at 33rpm, instead of the normal 45rpm. The fact that the label states "45 rpm" indicates that this was a mistake.

The song was voted number one in a Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All Time poll.^[6]

The song was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for "Best Rock Song",^[7] as well as for a 2007 Brit Award for "Best Single".

In March 2007 Natasha Bedingfield covered the song in Radio 1's live lounge as a part of the Jo Whiley Show.

[edit] Formats and track listings

UK Promo (released in July 2006)

"Chasing Cars" [radio edit] - 4:10
"Chasing Cars" [album version] - 4:27

UK CD (released July 24, 2006)

"Chasing Cars" [album version] - 4:27
"It Doesn't Matter Where, Just Drive" - 3:37

UK 7" (released July 24, 2006)

"Chasing Cars" [album version] - 4:27
"Play Me Like Your Own Hand" - 4:15

European CD (released in October 2006)

"Chasing Cars" [album version] - 4:27
"Play Me Like Your Own Hand" - 4:15
"It Doesn't Matter Where, Just Drive" - 3:37

U.S. Promo (released in July 2006)

"Chasing Cars" [Top 40 Edit] - 3:58

U.S. iTunes single (released June 6, 2006)

"Chasing Cars" [Live in Toronto] - 4:28

Special Dutch Edition

"Chasing Cars
"You're All I Have (live from BNN)"
"How To Be Dead (live from BNN)"
"Chasing Cars (live from BNN)"

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (2006)	Peak position^[8]
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs	3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	5
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	6
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Ringtones	36
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	12
Australian ARIA Digital Track Chart	1
Austria Single Charts	10
Belgium Single Charts	3
Czech IFPI Chart	3
Dutch Mega Top 50	8
Dutch Top 40	24
French Singles Charts	57
German Singles Charts	8
German Airplay Charts	18
Irish Singles Chart	10
Latvian Airplay Top	3
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	4
Polish Singles Chart	54
Singapore Top 20	1
Slovakia Single Chart	59
Spanish iTunes	1
Swiss Single Chart	5
UK Official Download Chart	2
UK Singles Chart	6
United World Chart	6
VSpot Top 20 Countdown	9

[edit] References

^ Top 40 Singles of 2006, from BBC Radio 1 website
^ Snow Patrol's MySpace profile
^ Chart rules are changing! BBC Radio 1, Accessed 07-01-07
^ BBC 1 Chart Show, Broadcast 07-01-07
^ A State of Trance #264 Playlist
^ http://www.virginradio.co.uk/music/charts/top_500/index.html
^ "FOX Facts: Complete List of Grammy Award Nominations". Associated Press. December 7, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
^ References for chart positions:
- Dutch Top 40. MegaCharts. Retrieved on October 6, 2006.
- Irish Charts – Top 50 Singles. IRMA. Retrieved on August 20, 2006.
- Latvian Airplay Top. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- Swiss Single Top 100 listing for "Chasing Cars". swisscharts.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2006.
- Official UK Download Chart. BBC Radio 1. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
- Official UK Singles Chart. BBC Radio 1. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
- Snow Patrol: Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on October 6, 2006.
Official ARIA digital track chart. ARIA Charts. Retrieved on November 6, 2006.

Discography
Snow Patrol
Gary Lightbody \| Paul Wilson \| Jonny Quinn \| Nathan Connolly \| Tom Simpson
Mark McClelland
Studio albums: Songs for Polarbears \| When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up \| Final Straw \| Eyes Open
Extended plays: \| Starfighter Pilot \| Live and Acoustic at Park Ave.
Singles: "Little Hide" \| "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" \| "Velocity Girl/Absolute Gravity" \| "Starfighter Pilot/Remixes" \| "Ask Me How I Am" \| "One Night Is Not Enough" \| "Spitting Games" \| "Run" \| "Chocolate" \| "How to Be Dead" \| "You're All I Have" \| "Hands Open" \| "Chasing Cars" \| "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" \| "Open Your Eyes"