With Arms Wide Open

"With Arms Wide Open" is a song by American rock band Creed. It was released on April 24, 2000 as the third single from their second studio album, Human Clay. The song topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (most airplay of a track from an album) for four weeks in July 2000; a month later it reached the U.S. top 40 (in sales). In October, the song hit the top ten and topped the Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart for eight weeks. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated November 11, 2000 for one week, becoming their first and only number one. The music video topped VH1's top ten countdown in 2000.

This article is about Creed's song. For the compilation album, see With Arms Wide Open: A Retrospective.

"With Arms Wide Open"
Single by Creed
from the album Human Clay
B-side	"One" "Wash Away Those Years"
Released	April 24, 2000
Recorded	1998
Genre	Post-grunge pop rock[1] pop[1]
Length	4:36 (album version) 3:53 (radio version)
Label	Wind-up
Songwriter(s)	Scott Stapp Mark Tremonti
Producer(s)	Ron Saint Germain John Kurzweg
Creed singles chronology
"What If" (2000) "With Arms Wide Open" (2000) "Are You Ready?" (2000)

In February 2001, Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song as the writers of "With Arms Wide Open".[2] The song was also nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, but lost to U2 for "Beautiful Day". In September, it was announced that Creed would release a limited edition single of "With Arms Wide Open" with some profits benefiting Scott Stapp's With Arms Wide Open Foundation to "promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families".

Three main versions of the song exist. One is the original album version. The second is the radio version, which adds additional hi-hat and drums, and also edits out the ending. The third is the video version (or "Strings Remix") which adds strings to the radio version.

Background and writing

Scott Stapp wrote the lyrics when he found out, with great surprise, that he was going to be a father.

Track listing

US single (18004-2)

1. "With Arms Wide Open (Strings Version)"
2. "With Arms Wide Open (Acoustic Version)"
3. "With Arms Wide Open (Rock Version)"
4. "With Arms Wide Open (Video – Viewable on PC)"

EU maxi-single (670695 2)

1. "With Arms Wide Open (New Version)"
2. "With Arms Wide Open (Strings Version)"
3. "With Arms Wide Open (Acoustic Version)"
4. "With Arms Wide Open (Album Version)"
5. "With Arms Wide Open (Video – Viewable on PC)"

Australia and New Zealand maxi-single (670739 2)

1. "With Arms Wide Open (New Version)"
2. "Wash Away Those Years"
3. "One"
4. "With Arms Wide Open (Strings Version)"
5. "With Arms Wide Open (Video – Viewable on PC)"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2000–2001) Peak position scope="row" Australia (ARIA)[3] 4 scope="row" Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 15 scope="row" Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 2 scope="row" Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] 33 scope="row" Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[7] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 47 scope="row" Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 42 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[10] 2 scope="row" Ireland (IRMA)[11] 40 scope="row" Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 75 scope="row" New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 10 scope="row" Norway (VG-lista)[14] 6 Portugal (AFP)[15] 10 scope="row" Scotland (Official Charts Company)[16] 17 scope="row" Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 70 scope="row" UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] 13 scope="row" UK Rock and Metal (Official Charts Company)[19] 1 scope="row" US Billboard Hot 100[20] 1 scope="row" US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[21] 6 scope="row" US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] 29 scope="row" US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[23] 1 scope="row" US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[24] 2 scope="row" US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[25] 1 scope="row" US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[26] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 37 US Billboard Hot 100[28] 36 Chart (2001) Position Australia (ARIA)[29] 20 US Billboard Hot 100[30] 39 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position US Billboard Hot 100[31] 46 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[32] 339 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[33] 2× Platinum 140,000^^ United States (RIAA)[34] Gold 500,000 ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. Leahey, Andrew. "Creed". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
2. https://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/02/21/43rd-Annual-Grammy-Award-winners/1345982731600/
3. "Australian-charts.com – Creed – With Arms Wide Open". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Creed – With Arms Wide Open" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7292." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
6. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7262." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
7. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9941." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 5. January 27, 2001. p. 34. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Creed – With Arms Wide Open". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
10. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (22.12–29.12 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). December 22, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
11. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Creed". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Creed – With Arms Wide Open" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
13. "Charts.nz – Creed – With Arms Wide Open". Top 40 Singles.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Creed – With Arms Wide Open". VG-lista.
15. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17 no. 44. October 28, 2000. p. 17. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Creed – With Arms Wide Open". Swiss Singles Chart.
18. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
19. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
20. "Creed Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
21. "Creed Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
22. "Creed Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
23. "Creed Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
24. "Creed Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
25. "Creed Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
26. "Creed Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
27. "End of Year Charts 2000". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
28. "Billboard Top 100 – 2000". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
29. "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2001". ARIA. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
30. "Billboard Top 100 – 2001". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
31. "The Decade in Music – Hot 100 Songs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 121 no. 50. December 19, 2009. p. 158. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
32. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
33. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
34. "American single certifications – Creed – With Arms Wide Open". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 19, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Music video
• Song meaning
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics