"Gotta Be Somebody" is a 4:13 song from rock band Nickelback's sixth album, Dark Horse (November 18, 2008). It is also the first single from the album (released September 29, 2008). It is the second longest song on the album. "If Today was Your Last Day" was supposed to be the first single but it was changed to "Gotta Be Somebody."
Like all the other tracks on the album the song was written by Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger. Joey Moi is credited for production and mixing on the song.
The song reached #1 on the U.S. Adult Top 40, #10 on U.S. Billboard Top 100, #7 on the UK Singles Chart, #4 on the the Canadian Hot 100 chart, and #14 on the Australian Singles Chart (ARIA).
The song was covered by country singer Bucky Covington in 2009 and English pop singer Shayne Ward in 2010.
To watch the music video go here.
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.
It's graduation day and he's never felt more alone. He sits at a table far apart from the rest of his graduating class in the school cafeteria. He stares at a picture of a young blond from his sixth birthday party. The woman stands barely fifty feet away, every bit as beautiful as the young girl in the picture but having blossomed into a woman.
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
She saw the book he was reading at lunch and it worries her: The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Why would he be reading a book like that? It's troubling. She decides to talk to the boy's guidance counselor and make sure everything is alright. He's always so quiet and she thinks that maybe something is wrong. Better safe than sorry.
Someone to love with my life in their hands.
The nursing assistant frowns. She sees her patient's hands trembling unusually.
"Do you always shake like that?" she asks the patient.
"I don't know," he replies.
The nursing assistant decides to double-check and takes the patient's temperature. 101. Mmhh. She does some more tests. With the help of an RN they determine that he is having an allergic reaction to the medication being injected into his vein.
The nursing staff act quickly. They cover the patient with a blanket and put a cool washcloth on his forehead. They stop the medication and as soon as they can they inject the patient with steroids to counter the allergic reaction.
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.
They are both in the tenth grade and are together with a bunch of students and a few adult volunteers in the church. Students are hugging each other. The young woman and the boy somehow end up close together looking for someone to hug. They find each other and embrace. The boy doesn't know it yet but this hug will be the one he treasures most in the future.
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere.
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
Tonight, out on the street out in the moonlight
He often goes on walks in the country at night and sometimes rides his bike. He loves it most when the night sky is clear and the stars and moon are out. He loves the illumination and shadows. Occasionally he walks past her house and wonders if she is sleeping and how beautiful she looks while she's doing it. He's sure she's quite a beautiful sleeper.
And damn it this feels too right
It's just like deja vu
Me standin' here with you
So I'll be holdin' my breath
"Breathe," the nursing assistant tells the patient.
The patient slowly lets his breath out. He hadn't even noticed that he had stopped. The nursing assistant is good at observing things others don't. The man had stopped breathing because of the needle going into his arm. He had feared the pain he felt was imminent.
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I'll spend forever with?
You can't give up
When you're lookin' for a diamond in the rough
She is an amazing woman. Intelligent, gorgeous, and full of kindness. Her kind is a rarity, so many amazing characteristics in one woman. Everything about her is attractive and she shines.
Because you never know when it shows up
Make sure you're holdin' on
'Cause it could be the one, the one you're waiting on
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
Someone to love with my life in their hands.
He later realizes that the nursing assistant may have saved him from serious complications when she managed to realize that he was having an allergic reaction to the medicine. The man himself hadn't even noticed he was shaking. If she hadn't been observant and noticed what she did things could have been much worse.
There's gotta be somebody for me.
He sees all the people around him with relationships. So many high school boys and girls who hold hands, kiss, and embrace each other. He has never held hands with a female, kissed one, or even had a serious hug. The only thing he really desires is some good human contact. Touch is the most important sense and he wants some. But he knows he can't have any.
Oh, nobody wants to go it on their own
He knows he can't do it all by himself. His intelligence, practicality, and efficiency alone aren't enough. He needs support from someone, someone who can complement his skills and provide their own.
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere.
"Do you know what altruism means?" he asks the woman.
"No. Do you?"
"No."
"You should look it up in the dictionary."
He prefers the scientific definition of altruism. One who helps another gain something while not gaining something them-self and maybe causing harm to them-self.
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
Nobody wants to be the last one there
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
He wants so badly for another student to tell him "I care about you." He knows that "I love you," can never happen, and if it did he'd probably die of a heart attack laughing. But just knowing that someone cared about him would make a world of difference.
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere.
"Everyone deserves compassion," she says out loud.
He smiles and loves her a little more than he did before. Compassion isn't altruism but it is probably related. And they can both probably agree that compassion and altruism are necessary in the world for it to be a good place. The man doesn't believe that everyone deserves compassion (there are probably a few cases of people who don't). But it's nice to have found someone who wants to make the world a better place and believes she can.
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.