Always (Saliva song)

"Always" is a song by American rock band Saliva. It was released in October 2002 as the first single off their third studio album Back into Your System (2002). The song reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks (now called Alternative Songs) chart for one week in February 2003, making this Saliva's only number-one hit in their career. "Always" also peaked at number 51 on the Hot 100, the band's highest-charted single on that chart. It also reached the top 50 in countries like Ireland and the UK. The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Charles Infante, features a man roaming around the city being haunted by a woman.

"Always"
Single by Saliva
from the album Back into Your System
Released	October 2002
Genre	Post-grunge alternative rock[1]
Length	3:51
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Bob Marlette Josey Scott Paul Crosby David Novotny Wayne Swinny
Producer(s)	Bob Marlette
Saliva singles chronology
"After Me" (2001) "Always" (2002) "Rest In Pieces" (2003)
Music video
"Always" on YouTube

Critical reception

Brian O'Neill of AllMusic gave the song a "Track Pick" tag, describing it as "histrionic" and encapsulating the melodrama from Kiss' Animalize.[2]

Chart performance

"Always" reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks (now called Alternative Songs) chart for the week of February 1, 2003, ending the nine-week reign of "All My Life" by the Foo Fighters.[3] This remains Saliva's only number-one hit in their career. On the week of December 14, 2002, the song debuted at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] Ten weeks later, it reached number 51 the week of February 15, 2003.[5] To date, it is the band's highest-charted single on that chart. The song also charted in the UK and Ireland, debuting at numbers 47 and 48 for the weeks of March 6 and 9, 2003 respectively before leaving the next week.[6] It fared less better in Australia, only charting at number 62 on the week of March 10, 2003.[7]

Music video

Directed by Charles Infante,[8] the video focuses on a young man, played by future Criminal Minds star Matthew Gray Gubler, who appears to be haunted by a woman of his past, sporadically appearing throughout the city. The video ends with the man, enraged, destroying a telephone booth before collapsing to the ground. MTV requested an edit of the lyrics in the final verse. The line "the pistol shaking in my hand, and all I can hear is the sound" was edited to replace the word "pistol" with "anger" in the video version.[9]

Uses in media

"Always" was the theme song for WWE's Survivor Series Pay-per-view in November 2002.[10] It was also featured in the music video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as a downloadable content song.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Always (Radio edit)"	3:51
2.	"Click Click Boom (Album version)"	4:14
3.	"Your Disease (Album version)"	3:57
4.	"Always (Video)"	3:58

• Always (Radio edit) bares no difference to the album version, but Always (Video) is censored; the word "pistol" is replaced with the word "anger".

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[7]	62
scope="row"	Ireland (IRMA)[11]	48
scope="row"	Scotland (Official Charts Company)[12]	38
scope="row"	UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13]	47
scope="row"	UK Rock and Metal (Official Charts Company)[14]	3
scope="row"	US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[15]	1
scope="row"	US Billboard Hot 100[16]	51
scope="row"	US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[17]	2

See also

• List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 2000s

References

1. Cosores, Philip (July 4, 2017). "Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit from Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. p. 3. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
2. O'Neill, Brian. "Back into Your System – Saliva". AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
3. Martens, Todd (January 23, 2003). "B2K, P. Diddy 'Bump' To No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
4. Martens, Todd (December 5, 2002). "Eminem Holds No. 1 Single For 6th Week". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
5. "The Hot 100: February 15, 2003". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
6. "Always by Saliva". aCharts.co. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
7. "The ARIA Report: Issue 681 (Week Commencing 10 March 2003)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
8. "Charles Infante". mvdbase.com. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
9. "Saliva interview for Metal Masters". PhantomPhotography.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
10. "WWE and Saliva Launch Promotion with the World Premiere of 'Always'". WWE. October 17, 2002. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
11. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Saliva". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
14. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
15. "Saliva Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
16. "Saliva Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
17. "Saliva Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics