Nickelback: Rockstar Meaning

Song Released: 2006

Rockstar Lyrics

I'm through with standing in line
To clubs we'll never get in
It's like the bottom of the ninth
And I'm never gonna win
This life hasn't turned out
Quite the way I want it to be

(Tell me what you want)

I want a brand new house
On an...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 18th 2008 !⃝

   "Rockstar" may have a few meanings on different levels (i.e. The parody of celebrity lifestyle or as a biography of Nickelback's success etc.).
   But what I like to add is that Chad and Billy must be pissing themselves laughing because generally, few people have 1realised the more subtle allusion the song's lyrics refers to.
   Ingeniously, this allusion a is both veiled and yet also
   blatantly obvious at the same time.
   Picture a young man who is discontent at the "cards that life has dealt" him. Lady Luck and Fate have not been kind towards him. Frustrated, he discovers a way to change his fate. The young man discovers that the ANSWER to every material wish he has, is actually quite SIMPLE - make a deal...
   He makes the "deal...". The "deal" that many other rock stars have made, thereafter going on to realise huge world wide fame and success.
   ENTER LUCIFER played by "Billy Gibbons". Interestingly, the
   volume of Bill's voice is noticeably lower than the rest of the song, giving his voice a more subversive, sinister tone.
   Tell me what do you want... So what do you need?... So how're you going to do it...?
   "I'm gonna (TRADE THIS LIFE / I'M GONNA SELL MY SOUL) for FORTUNE AND FAME (no explanation required here), I'd even cut my hair and change my name" I'll do WHATEVER the "deal"
   requires.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   SongBird_Singer

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 21st 2007 !⃝

   Yes, I think it's about Chad's life and all, but it's also a sort of way of saying "hey, in the end, being a Rockstar is a drag." I can't help but hearing a slight dissapointment in the lyrics, how everyone is out to get you and your money, and no one really cares WHO you are, but what you are. I think Nickelback is trying to say live a life of a real human, because being a rock god is as surreal as it gets.
   (I'm sure poppin' pills doesn't really help to create a good reality, eithier.)

3. 3TOP RATED

   #3 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 4th 2008 !⃝

   I think the song is about the dream of becoming a "rockstar" and the band have thought of all the crazy things that people associate "Rockstars" with. They basically describe all the fantasies of many young people and poke fun at themselves and other rockstars when describing the lifestyle. When the song refers to cutting hair and changing your name- it is poking fun at Chad as he has done this.
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 2nd 2022 !⃝

   Way I see it all the things he wants to be is dead,elvis dead, playboy mansion dead, everything dead,what happens when you sell your soul to illuminati.
5. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 15th 2017 !⃝

   First time I heard these songs they were awesome and I can listen to it all day if I had internet. anyway I know that a lot of people think this band is crazy well to tell the truth it is, I find that cool too. I think this song can inspire people who can't stand up for them selves. Especially to be what they want to be even if you have no one to turn to. Just do what you want to do with your life and just believe in your self. Because you can do this make your self happy to be you. The video was awesome too because they had many people sing without being embarrassed to sing, which was cool too most awesome as well.
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 12th 2017 !⃝

   In my opinion, this song is about a man who is ready to give everything of his life just to be famous. He is going to cut his hair and changehi s name so he will lose his whole identity. And this just to be famous.
7. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 13th 2011 !⃝

   When you're famous you can have all of the fancy, expensive things. You can have anything you want. For example, the Rolling Stones had a Snooker table custom-built for them to travel with just for the sake of having one and they rarely used it and gave it back to the carpenter who made it. In the end, it's all just material possessions. It dosen't ammount to much in the long run. Also, everyone thinks their life is bad because the media causes the "if you're not famous, you don't matter" hype. Even when you are famous life still sucks. You are forced to keep a good public image (We'll all stay skinny...)and to do that you have to sacrifice your body in some ways. Many famous people resort to drugs and become addicted as a result which either kills them or puts them in debt. The "Rockstar" image appears glamorous on the surface, but many are not as proud of their prestigious career as they thought they would be.
8. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 30th 2010 !⃝

   ok. this is simple. its about a guy with a poor life and everything he goes, sad and unfortunate life. so, he decides he wants to be a rockstar to where he thinks he can get everything he wants. if my explanation sounds bad, imagine this.
   
   vegas, girls, playboy girls, money, fortune etc
   
   understand now?

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. 2fast4u2c

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 6th 2010 !⃝

   I personally love this song and grew up listening to Nickelback and I think they were trying to state that we all want to be famous, but can't. I think he wrote a song on what he thought before he was famous and that way people can relate to this song easily.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jun 22nd 2008 !⃝

    I think that this song is about Johnny Damon. Because he changed his name. Red Sox->Yankees. He cut his hair because when it says: "I'll even cut my hair and change my name."

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
11. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Feb 3rd 2007 !⃝

    It's simply what Chad want and he got it. He changed his last name from Turton to Kroeger. He did cut his hair. So it's not that hard if you just read the lyrics really good and Chad's bio than you will get it in a heartbeat.
12. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Dec 5th 2006 !⃝

    I think this song is about how people give up their life and lose who they really are to be famous and rich. In other words, a "rockstar". "I'll trade this life for fortune and fame,I'll even cut my hair and change my name"

Latest Articles

• 
  A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park
• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)