“Heavy Is The Crown” by Daughtry
There’s a lot going on in Daughtry’s “Heavy Is The Crown”. Perhaps it has something to do with Chris Daughtry’s personal reflections at the time. He had reached a crossroads in his life where he realized he had become too needy for public attention. And this resulted in him ‘taking a much needed pause’ and to actually engage in some introspective soul searching, if you will.
What’s the meaning of “Heavy is the Crown”?
Well the title of this song, “heavy is the crown”, is actually a well-known idiom. And the idea upon which that saying is based implies that the person who is uttering it is actually, to some degree, famous, as is Chris Daughtry. And also as put forth earlier, said fame has had some less-than-ideal effects on him.
But with that established, trying to understand definitively what this song is about still proves to be a challenge. Yes, there are some points where the singer implies that perhaps he feels too much external, public pressure.
For instance, the phrase “never let them bleed you out” obviously points to such a notion, i.e. not allowing yourself to be used by others.
Moreover the singer insinuates that he may have “the weight of the world crashing” upon him or at least has experienced such in the past, i.e. feeling as if the strain put on him by others is overwhelming.
But to such, his response is to “find a way to get a little bit stronger” and “to fight all off the demons”, as in rising to the challenge, so to speak.
So discerning those parts of the song is relatively-easy. It is apparent that the singer knows what it feels like to be overstressed. Moreover said feelings would have something to do with his interactions with other people. Okay, good.
Who are these People?
Where the lyrics become more challenging to decipher is when he may be actually talking about who those other people are. And generally speaking he obviously doesn’t view them favorably.
For example, he likens these masses to ‘lambs marching to the slaughter’, and “toy soldiers line(d) up at the altar”.
So the implication is that not only do they lack free will, but also their lives are apparently in some sort of danger that they can’t perceive. Moreover they are depicted as “try(ing) to bring the castle down”.
Now being that the singer himself is the one wearing “the crown”, then said “castle” would obviously allude to something like his livelihood, i.e. these individuals trying to destroy him – or something like that.
Thesis Sentiment of “Heavy Is The Crown”
So taking all of the above into consideration, we’re going to have to go a bit out on a limb in an attempt to derive a thesis sentiment from this track.
And based on the title as well as about a third of the lyrics, the premise would be that the singer’s superstardom is taking a toll on his wellbeing.
Furthermore, the conclusion would be something like he doesn’t feel that the fame and wealth is really worth it. This would have something to do with his opinion of the masses themselves, whom he doesn’t necessarily view as being loyal.
That latter sentiment is actually one expressed quite commonly by pop musicians, that fans at times can be fickle, for lack of a better synonym. However, in this case that observation appears to be veiled behind some shall we say semi-offensive metaphors, such as whoever he is referring to in this song not being overly-intelligent either.
There might still be Hope
But at the end of the day, all hope is not lost. For in what appears to be the bridge of the track, a philosophy is put forth akin to all of our material pursuits in life ultimately ‘fading away’. And that the only thing that can last forever is “love”.
So in the midst of a song filled with ambitious imagery, we will postulate that what Daughtry is saying in this passage is that at the end of the day, love is the only thing which truly matters. For unlike being a pop star or even the fan of a pop star, it is actually permanent.
Release Date of “Heavy Is the Crown”
This is the second single from Daughtry’s sixth-studio album. As of the release of this track on 19 March 2021, said project is tentatively entitled “Nothing Lasts Forever”.
And the first single from it would have been “World on Fire“, which came out in mid-2020.
Daughtry
Daughtry is a band fronted by one Chris Daughtry. He’s a singer who made a name for himself after participating on American Idol in 2006.
And whereas he didn’t actually win the contest, coming in at fourth place, he went on to embark on a successful music career nonetheless. For instance, as of 2021, only two former Idol contestants, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, have sold more records than Chris Daughtry.
And to put that into perspective, both of those ladies actually won the seasons of the show they participated on.
Indeed upon Chris forming Daughtry in 2006, their two first albums, “Daughtry” (2006) and “Leave This Town” (2009) both reached the pinnacle of the Billboard 200.
Their debut project was especially well-received, being certified sextuple-platinum in the US as of 2019.
Throughout the 2010s the buzz surrounding the band has slowed down since what appears to be their heyday. But still all five albums they have dropped up until this point made onto the top 10 of Billboard 200, as well as the top 5 of Billboard’s Rock Albums chart.
The “Nothing Lasts Forever” Project
The aforementioned album (“Nothing Lasts Forever”) will apparently be one which Chris Daughtry is putting out independently (though distributed by Warner Music).
Daughtry had a contract with RCA Records beginning in 2006 which concluded sometime before the release of “Heavy Is The Crown”. And it wasn’t that he actually had any beef with RCA. Rather as Chris explained the situation, he had ‘fulfilled his contract’ and wanted to go independent in the name of being afforded more artistic freedom.
I think he is singing about Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. Read the four gospels in the New Testament concerning the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. You will see what I mean.
I was thinking the same thing. The imagery and passion in the lyrics certainly reflect Christ’s suffering and His ultimate victory over death.
Absolutely
I agree with both of you. Chris Daughtry has stayed true to himself and his belief in Jesus. With what is happening in this world and our country, this song says it all on what is truly important and what will prevail….LOVE!
My thoughts exactly.. that’s what led me here.
That’s the first place my heart took me as well. That’s why I did this Google Search, hoping that Chris would have explained the lyrics himself.
That’s what led me here as well. My heart went straight to Jesus Christ. So I did a search hoping that Chris would explain the song and what it meant to him. But I can’t know that for sure since I haven’t found any comment on the song by the rider. So in my heart I choose to believe that he’s singing about Jesus Christ.
Hi
Do any of you think he’s singing to the king of kings saying he will never bow down? Cuz he said they’ll remember me when I’m in the ground and Jesus was never buried in the ground. Also he says like lambs to the slaughter, well aren’t we supposed to be the lambs whom know our Shepard voice so we are being led and it sounds like he’s saying we are being led to the slaughter. Now I’ve always been a big Chris fan but there was a time in my life I made idols out of things.
Not like worshipping it but over having a true relationship with my creator. Now if we read the Bible ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit the Ruach Ha Kodesh be our teacher we’d start to notice what main stream Christianity has brought us isn’t what Christ actually preached. It’s one huge reason we have thousands of denominations. Because everyone picks what they wanna do and how they wanna serve him rather than the way he asked. Everything from our false Holidays which is the world’s way of saying holydays like Christmas and Easter (ishtar).
Just because u put the name Christ with Mas doesn’t mean he would approve of it. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have already given us God’s feast days. And honestly Christ is just the title like the word messiah. So if they use Christmas doesn’t really mean it’s the Christ we truly love and follow. There’s 2 types of Jesus’s in the world. The first is the one who came and died for our sins so that we could be brought back to The Father and the other one preaches lawlessness. Where as the scriptures say for I did not come to abolish the profits or the law but to fulfill. So what does that mean? Well he tells us by saying “verly I say unto you that you have been told that if you sleep with another woman or man who is not your husband or wife that you have committed adultery but I say to you that if you look at a woman or man with lust you have already committed adultery in your heart”.
He took it a step further and he proceeds to tell us we must be born again and repent and turn from our sin to be able to enter the kingdom of God. Now we fail daily but he’s the intercessor for us to God and when we fall short cuz we will his blood the price he paid still makes us spot less in the eyes of the Father. He sees his son not our sin. If we could have done it ourselves he would never had to come.
So yes the 10 commandments are still in effect as everyone needs to have 1 base moral law to adhere too otherwise u get what we have going on all over the world where people have their own moral code some don’t but if we play that game then we can’t get mad at rapists or murderers or pedophiles because if their moral code doesn’t think pedophilia is wrong then who are we to say anything about it? It’s ok in his book but if we all live by the same moral code then we all have a set standard to follow but the problem with that according to the world is if we decide to follow God’s law the commandments then we must live more righteously and we have to answer to the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. For the wages of sin is death! So Christ paid the penalty yes but he didn’t do that so we could just run reckless and do as we want cuz we have a get out of hell free card. So he tells us we must pick up our crosses daily and follow him. He said the world will hate us but not to worry for it hated him first.
Imagine coming to bring the Gospel and die for those you created and love and having to be killed by those you created and love and still continuing to knock on our hearts and ask if he can come in and sup with us. He won’t force himself into our lives or hearts but he’s always right there waiting to be asked in! I pray this found someone who is needing it and it touches you as The True Word is Alive and Living and he’s coming to bring judgement to am unrepenting world.
Remember he will never ask us to do something he wouldn’t do. Stop and think real quick in the old testament people were killing their babies sacrificing their babies to Baal or Mulach he has many names but they were doing this to gain money power and prestige in this world. They’d play the drums real loud so they wouldn’t have to hear the screams of the babies (cowards). So while the god baal or mulach requires child sacrifice The true Living God came to this world and he sent his son to die for us so we would never have to do such a thing.
Now Jesus or as some even myself use the name Yashua could have said nah these people don’t deserve it and just not done it but he even cried out saying “Father, Father forgive them for they know not what they do” and right after that he ended it all by saying “IT IS FINISHED” he gave himself willfully. Yes he had times of weakness of doubt as he was also man he had to die a man’s death he even asked the Father if there was anyway possible for the cup to pass from him. Now what cup is he speaking of? In revelations it says God will pour out his cup of fire and furry to those who don’t wanna live righteously and want to live in their sins and flesh constantly and never have a repenting heart for it. He tells us he will give us a new heart a circumcision of the heart is what he does to give us the wants and desires of his will which is righteousness. Like I stated earlier it all goes back to the heart.
Many say follow your heart but it is wicked it is selfish more times than not. But if he changes your heart and you seek him he will lead you where you should be. We always find ourselves in trouble because we follow our own wants and needs and desires which all start in the heart. And then we pray for him to help us out and he continues to be there. It’s a big reason Satan or the adversary hates us so much because he messed up one time and was kicked out of heaven but we mess us all the time and he still wants to hear from us. I heard a pastor preach this and yes I can see why that would piss off Satan or lucifer. And please don’t take what I’m saying as I’m holier than anyone else for I have my shirt comings and I’m on this walk with him as well. He teaches me daily and I may never fully know everything until he comes back and sets us up in the new heaven and new earth but that’s ok. I trust in The Father I trust in The Son and I Trust in his Holy Spirit. So I know if I follow Him he will lead me by still waters and green pastures for his yolk is lite.
If anyone has questions or wants to talk because they need it you can email me at [email protected] or even if u just need prayer. I don’t know it all and will never claim to but I gave you what I felt he wanted me to share. I have rarely ever done this but he for some reason placed it on my heart to share. So continue to seek our creator and see where it leads you especially if you do it with a pure heart. God Bless and I pray everyone seeks what they are finding in the The Father, Son and his Heavenly Holy Spirit. I LOVE YOU AND MOST OF ALL THE GREAT I AM LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!
My Thoughts Exactly ! Pointing To Christ !
I understand the words from the point of view as a Christian. He begins saying how he never thought he would need faith, the denial of faith was like a cancer running through his veins. The ones who believed were like lambs to the slaughter, he was never meant to believe (drink that water). But after he (drank the water), he is never going to faulted, he will never bow down to the idols of the world again. Although, we are children of the King (who wears a crown, it is not easy being a Christian) having that title is difficult and heavy. The world will try to crush us, push us to the edge so we can destroy ourselves, but we need to get stronger (by the Word of God) to fight off the demons that attack us. Now it is the world who is naive and follow blindly unto their own destruction, like lambs to the slaughter. Whatever comes, Christians will rise even after death (underground) for Christ gives us life. Our sacrifice does not go unnoticed. Everything in this world will pass away, but we stand strong for the promise of the eternal life.
Well that is my interpretation of the song.
Oh my goodness, this is the BEST interpretation thus far!! Love it!!
Love , yes 🙌
Well said!
Chris was on Kelly Clarkson and told what the song meant. Unfortunately, it’s not intended to be about Christ~
I admit I was a bit disappointed. Here’s what he had to say:
“We’re all kind of like the stars of our own movie…” Daughtry explained of the new single. “We’re the kings and queens of our own castle. There’s so much pressure just to live, especially these days.” Daughtry continued, “Not only that, but the pressures of carving your own path without conforming to what everyone else thinks is normal, and just the daily choices that we have to make. It’s a lot of pressure sometimes and I guess you can sum it up that way.”
Meaning: In the LIGHT…you will find the ROAD!!!
This song touched me because to me it meant just growing from an adolescent to an adult is hard. When suddenly you have responsibilities beyond what you expected, Heavy is the Crown. I also love the Christian idea but it was first from Sheaksphere, I believe
Gotta be honest. I’ve seen Daughtry close to 8 times in concert all over the US, met him in person once. I gotta tell you, I think this is his renouncing his faith song. Just as he covered up the cross tattoo he had, this all points towards Christianity in the negative not the positive. Kinda bummed.
Heavy is the crown inspired me quite a bit when I had to deal with this really big jerk attorney from Los Angeles. He eventually got taken down because I held my ground against all of his nonsense and baseless email attacks. Of course he did not have the guts to meet me face to face. Thanks Daughtry!!!
As a vet, the lyrics fit perfectly from the viewpoint of a “Hero” of war. “See them march, lambs to the slaughter…Toy soldiers lined up on the altar…I was never meant to drink that water…They’ll remember me, when I’m under ground.”