“Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)” by Simple Plan
The marketing behind “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)”, such as its music video and some statements Simple Plan have made in that regard, may give one the impression that “Wake Me Up” was composed with the concurrent crisis in the Ukraine in mind. But it would appear that this track was actually put together some time ago, even prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. And as tersely explained by Pierre Bouvier, what we are dealing with here is a song about “life and love”.
More specifically, the implication would be that he’s addressing a romantic interest, even though the lyrics don’t directly point to such an idea. That is because said lyrics read a lot like the musings of someone whose relationship with his significant other has deteriorated for reasons he’s not exactly sure of. Indeed, that is the “nightmare” that the vocalist is currently living through, i.e. his relationship falling about, even though Pierre does not want it to be so.
The Nightmare
Artistically speaking, it can be postulated that part of the reason he is using such a metaphor is because, you know how sometimes when you’re having a nightmare you feel completely powerless? Well so is this situation in real life, to the extent that the vocalist wishes he could “could disappear” as opposed to facing it.
But as also revealed in the second verse, the term “nightmare” also alludes to this having once been a relationship based on beautiful “dreams”, if you will. But reading in between the lines, let’s just say that this romance has long transpired its euphoria stage. Now, as implied, all types of other factors besides the love shared by the pair have also seeped it. Or put more into layman’s terms, the relationship between the vocalist and addressee is currently messed up.
And such is how the song ends. The singer seems to be longing for assurance from his sweetheart – or perhaps anyone for that matter – that this union will live on. But at the moment, he doesn’t seem overly confident that such will prove to be the case.
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is rock band from Canada – Montreal to be exact. With a discography dating back to the early aughts, they’ve actually proven quite popular in their homeland and have also experienced some success outside, i.e. in Oceania and in some parts of Europe. Also to note their second studio album, “Still Not Getting Any…” (2002), peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, marking their best showing stateside to date.
When was “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)” released?
“Wake Me Up” is from the band’s fourth studio album. The entire project is a self-released effort that goes by the title “Harder Than It Looks”. To note, “Wake Me Up” is also the opening track on the album’s playlist. Being released on 8 April 2022, this track marks the fourth single put out thus far from that project.
Credits for “Wake Me Up”
The same four musicians who founded Simple Plan back in 1999. These musicians are:
- vocalist Pierre Bouvier
- drummer Chuck Comeau
- guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre
- guitarist Jeff Stinco
All four musicians are still holding down the brand to this day and have been throughout all of these years.
Jensen Noen, a Ukrainian filmmaker, directed the music video to “Wake Me Up”. And relatedly, this song is part of an effort in which Simple Plan is involved in to raise funds for an initiative called UNICEF Ukraine Emergency Appeal. As of the song’s release date, Ukraine is in a well-publicized war with Russia.
