Scott Stapp began writing the lyrics to the song in early 1998 during the My Own Prison tour, when he found out that his then wife Hillaree Burns was pregnant with his first child, Jagger. According to Stapp the song was written in 15 minutes at soundcheck. Stapp overheard guitarist Mark Tremonti playing and loved what he heard so much that he ran in and told Tremonti to just keep playing as Stapp began singing his lyrics.[1]
Stapp wrote the lyrics when he found out, with great surprise, that he was going to be a father. The original lyrics to the song were written from the perspective of having a daughter, even though his wife was pregnant with a boy, as Stapp used "she" during early live performances. This would eventually be changed when Stapp found out he would be having a son. In later years Stapp would not use "he" or "she" in reference to the child but rather "they" to refer to both his sons and daughter. In a 2013 interview with Songfacts, Stapp said of the song:
"It continues to have relevant meaning in my life because as I sing it now, I think of my daughter who's now on this planet and alive. And then I think of my newest son, my three-year-old, Daniel. And then I think back to the spirit and the somewhat naiveté, just that brutal honesty that that song expressed as me being a young man and approaching fatherhood for the first time. Now I'm a full-fledged father with a 14-year-old, a daughter who's going to be 7 in June and my youngest, who's 3. So those are still my feelings. And as a human being and as a father, my feelings haven't changed one bit from those that are expressed in that song. Every time I sing it, I can connect with it again and again and again because I'm no longer expressing fears in my thoughts about being a father; I'm a full-fledged living-it-every-day father. So it just rings true to me." — Stapp[2]
Musically the song is a power ballad written in the key of C major, with Tremonti playing in drop D tuning and Stapp singing in his signature baritone singing voice.[3][4][5] According to Stapp, following the massive crossover success of the single which he felt led to the song being heavily overplayed, so much so that even his then-wife would turn away from it, and upon hearing impersonations of other people mimicking his vocal delivery in a dramatic, over-the-top fashion he purposely began to alter his vocal style which he feels has helped him grow as a vocalist. He states "I don't know where I picked up all the idiosyncrasies of how I enunciate and I've been called out on my vowels ... But it's actually helped me as a singer because I've heard that and I've intentionally enunciated differently on different words and syllables, so thank you world for pointing out a consistent pattern early in my 20s so I could evolve and grow as a singer. You made me better. Thank you."[5]
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.
"With Arms Wide Open" reached number one on the US BillboardHot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks in July 2000 and is Creed's only track to appear on the BillboardAdult Contemporary chart, where it peaked at number 29 in March 2001. In October, the song entered the top 10 of Billboard'sAdult Top 40 chart and later topped the listing for eight weeks. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated November 11, 2000, for one week, becoming their first and only number one on the chart. The music video topped VH1's top ten countdown in 2000. On May 10, 2019, nearly 20 years after the release of Human Clay, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 digital units. On November 30, 2020, the certification was upgraded to double platinum for sales and streams of over two million units.[6]
The title became the name of a foundation set up by Stapp to help children and families. To launch the With Arms Wide Open Foundation, the band released a limited edition "enhanced-package single" in September 2000, with proceeds going to the charity to "promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families". The single contained an orchestrated version, a rock version, an acoustic reading, and the music video. In February 2001, Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti were nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song as the writers of "With Arms Wide Open".[7] The song was also nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal but lost to U2 for "Beautiful Day".[8] The music video for "With Arms Wide Open" was voted the 92nd best music video of all-time by VH1, who also ranked it number four on its "25 Greatest Power Ballads" list.[9]
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl described "With Arms Wide Open" as "one of the most amazing songs of all time".[10]
^With Arms Wide Open (US limited-edition minimax CD single liner notes). Creed. Wind-up Records. 2000. 60150-18004-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^With Arms Wide Open (UK CD single liner notes). Creed. Wind-up Records, Epic Records. 2000. 670695 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^With Arms Wide Open (UK limited 7-inch single sleve). Creed. Wind-up Records, Epic Records. 2000. 670695 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^With Arms Wide Open (European CD single liner notes). Creed. Wind-up Records, Epic Records. 2000. 670695 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^With Arms Wide Open (Australian and New Zealand enhanced CD single liner notes). Creed. Wind-up Records. 2000. 670739 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
