Goo Goo Dolls Rocker Explains 'Symbolic' Meaning Behind This Melancholy 1998 Track
- - Goo Goo Dolls Rocker Explains 'Symbolic' Meaning Behind This Melancholy 1998 Track
Carly SilvaDecember 15, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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Scott Legato/Getty Images
John Rzeznikof the Goo Goo Dolls is sharing some insight about the songwriting process for the band's 1998 deep cut, "Black Balloon."
In a new Instagram clip posted on Monday, Dec. 15, Rzeznik took fans behind the scenes of the making of "Black Balloon," a melancholy track with a profound emotional message.
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"It had this crescendo in the bridge, at the very end where this beautiful piano and this strings section all come together and they just create this thing and then it just drops out, the bottom just drops out of it," Rzeznik, 60, says in the video.
"To me, that was very symbolic [of] what the song was about in the first place."
Rzeznik has previously confirmed that "Black Balloon" is inspired by a real-life friend of the band's, who was battling a heroin addiction.
"She was a lovely human being, but had some big demons, and I don't know where that came from, I just felt like I was trying to give a voice to someone else's struggle," Rzeznik previously said during an interview on the Zach Sang show back in May.
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Going on to explain how the song's musical texture adds to the lyrical meaning of the track, Rzeznik said in the Instagram clip on Monday that, "It was sort of kind of a musical analogy of what this person was going through because it just rises so high and then the bottom drops out—boom."
Every note in “Black Balloon” tells a story 🖤" the band captioned the post on Monday.
"The most tragically beautiful song," one fan wrote under the post. "It’s always been my favorite on the album. 🖤."
"Such a beautiful, but sad song!😍😍" someone else echoed.
"Unbelievable, so moving," another user added, while one person even insisted that "Black Balloon" is one of the band's "best songs ever" and "second only" to their smash hit, "Iris."
Related: Fans Say This '90s Rocker Is Still 'One of the Best Performers' After Special Holiday Show
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
