One Headlight

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"One Headlight" is a song from The Wallflowers' 1996 album, Bringing Down the Horse. The song won two Grammys in 1998 and peaked at #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was named "Best Video" for 1996 in a VH1 poll. The song was performed live on the 1997 MTV Music Video Awards with Bruce Springsteen. It was also sung by Phil Ritchie on the 2006 TV show Rock Star: Supernova.

Lyrically, the singer begins by lamenting the loss of his "only friend" a long time ago. He describes a pretty girl who was depressed and ended up committing suicide. Then he describes his own level of depression. But the chorus echoes a hope that two psychologically damaged people could help each other and form a life which, like a car with only one working headlight, may not be perfect but could be enough to make it through life.

Preceded by
"Lakini's Juice" by Live
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single
March 8, 1997 - April 5, 1997
Succeeded by
"Staring at the Sun" by U2