“San Quentin” by Nickelback
San Quentin is a small town in California which houses San Quentin State Prison, one of the most-renowned and infamous of such institutions in the United States. So of course, Chad Kroeger was never an inmate there. Thus, the actual inspiration behind this fictional narrative is a chance meeting he had with the warden of the prison sometime back. And apparently what said narrative is based on is Kroeger fantasizing about breaking out of San Quentin, which is something that does happen from time to time.
But Chad’s story can be deemed more comical than factual per se, as in him making light of the situation. Or rather as depicted, he and at least one other inmate do manage to break free and enjoy freedom for a short amount of time. But the reality of the situation is that upon getting caught, he is now in more trouble than he was prior. And it’s hard to ascertain whether or not the narrator considers the whole ordeal a mistake.
On one hand, he obviously regrets being re-ensnared. But on the other, it’s like he really enjoyed those few days or hours or what have you out on the town.
Thesis Sentiment
What is easily ascertainable is the thesis sentiment, which squarely revolves around the desire on the part of the vocalist to “get the hell out of San Quentin” – something which, by the looks of things, may never transpire in his case.
And indeed, it doesn’t take someone who’s actually been in prison to understand that facilities such as this are about the last place on Earth you want to be stuck in. So maybe in meeting that aforementioned Warden, whom Kroeger “couldn’t believe how young he was”, perhaps that also caused the band to empathize with other individuals therein who cannot freely come and go as they choose.
Release of “San Quentin”
“San Quentin”, which was made public on 7 September 2022, is the lead single from the band’s tenth studio album titled “Get Rollin'”.
Nickelback is known to have first teased this song sometime around late August, 2022 or possibly a month prior to that.
This track is backed by BMG, whom Nickelback, one of the top rock groups from Canada, signed with in 2017 (though apparently got into some beef with concerning this particular release).
Sometime around mid-August of 2022, the band posted a tweet insinuating that BMG was blocking them from teasing the track. And in doing so, Nickelback actually went as far as to make public BMG’s New York office number, so that fans could call them in an attempt to “change their minds”. However, said tweet was promptly removed from the internet proper.
Credits
This song was authored by Chad Kroeger, who has been fronting the band since its inception in 1998.
And for the record his current bandmates (and since at least 2005) are Ryan Peake, his brother Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair, all four of whom are credited as producers of “San Quentin” alongside Chris Baseford.
