"Drops of Jupiter", initially released as "Drops of Jupiter ", is a song written and recorded by American rock bandTrain. It was released in February 2001 as the lead single from their second album Drops of Jupiter. The song hit the top 5 of the BillboardHot 100 chart and also charted in the top 40 for 29 weeks. The single from Europe had tracks "It's Love", "This Is Not Your Life", and "Sharks" as its B-sides. The song was ranked at No. 4 on Billboards 2001 list of top singles of the year, a spot higher than the song peaked. The recording features the signature strings of arranger Paul Buckmaster, who won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for "Drops of Jupiter".
Background and writing
Lead singerPatrick Monahan has stated that the song was inspired by his late mother, who had died after a struggle with cancer, and that the opening lines "came to in a dream." He said, "The process of creation wasn't easy. I just couldn't figure out what to write, but then I woke up from a dream about a year after my mother passed away with the words 'back in the atmosphere...It was just her way of saying what it was like – she was swimming through the planets and came to me with drops of Jupiter in her hair." The verse has a noted resemblance to the chorus of "Drift Away", a song most famously performed by Dobie Gray.
Critical reception
Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that it "demonstrates a truly artistic lyrical bent that merits instant acceptance of this credible rock-edged song." He sums up the review saying "add piano, a splendid orchestral backdrop, and a vocal shimmering with passion and personality, and this is a runaway track for Train."
Chart performance
"Drops of Jupiter" ascended to the top 10 of the Adult Contemporary chart in its 49th week, marking the longest climb to the top 10 on that tally by any act. The song has spent over 100 weeks on the Adult Contemporary charts, and is still charting on the Recurrents chart. Although the song was released years before digital download became commonplace, the song has sold over 1,000,000 downloads, and hit the top 50 of the Digital Songs charts five years after its release due to Ace Young singing it on the fifth season of American Idol. The track re-entered the UK Singles Chart for the week ending on April 7, 2012 at number 53 following a performance from contestant Phil Poole on The Voice UK. On the week ending April 28, 2012, "Drops of Jupiter" climbed to number 34, marking its ninth non-consecutive week inside the top 40. As of January 2017, the song has sold 564,460 copies in the UK.
Music video
There are two music videos for this song. The first one shows the band performing it on a stage, with a large banner reading "TRAIN" in the green-lit background. Clips of a woman performing various actions in various backgrounds related to the lyrics are inserted into various parts of the song. The second, more famous video shows the band performing the song on a stage backed by a string ensemble. As the video progresses, people come in to watch the song being performed. The video was shot at Union Station in Los Angeles, California, and was directed by Nigel Dick. The first version of this particular video also featured the story of a girl who ran away from home and, upon arriving at the station where the band was playing, was so moved that she decided to return home. However, this storyline was dropped during the editing process.
Judy Collins released a cover version of the song on her 2005 album, Portrait of an American Girl. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the 2009 film All About Steve.
Taylor Swift covered the song on her Speak Now World Tour in 2011, and released the cover on her 2011 live album Speak Now World Tour – Live.
Allstar Weekend released a cover on the song on their 2013 EP Kevin's Place.
The song was made available to download on May 1, 2012 for play in Rock Band 3 for Basic and Pro modes. The song was also played in the Netflix series Daredevil, during a flashback college scene between the two main characters Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson. It was also played in the American Dad! episode "Bully for Steve". The song is also featured heavily in the 2016 film Other People.
