Pain (Three Days Grace song)

"Pain" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on September 19, 2006, as the second single from their second studio album, One-X.^[2]

"Pain"
Single by Three Days Grace
from the album One-X
Released	September 19, 2006
Genre	Alternative rock[1]
Length	3:22
Label	Jive
Songwriter(s)	Adam Gontier
Producer(s)	Howard Benson
Three Days Grace singles chronology
"Animal I Have Become" (2006) "Pain" (2006) "Never Too Late" (2007)
Music video
"Pain" on YouTube

Background and composition

"Pain" was written by Adam Gontier and was produced by Howard Benson. The song came together when the group was in Bancroft, Ontario, at their friend's cottage in Stiemer's Lake.^[3] It was influenced from Gontier's rehab stint in 2005 after struggling with addiction to OxyContin.^[4] According to Gontier, the song describes "feeling like you're constantly numb to things around you, thanks to your own actions, and it's about being sick of that feeling." He also stated that the chorus has "one of the strongest lyrics" on the album.^[3]

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, by Alfred Music Publishing, the track runs at 81 BPM and is in the key of G major.^[5] Gontier's range in the song spans from the notes E4 to B5.^[5]

Versions

There are three versions of the song "Pain". The first version is the album version of song. The second version is an acoustic version of "Pain" that is available for download along with an acoustic version of "Animal I Have Become" on most online music stores including iTunes.^[6] The third version runs 3:28 long and is titled "Pain (Pleasure Mix)".^[7] The song was serviced to contemporary hit radio on June 3, 2008.^[8]

Chart performance

"Pain" peaked at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for four consecutive weeks.^[9] It stayed on the chart for 30 weeks where the prior single "Animal I Have Become" and next single, "Never Too Late" stayed longer on the chart at 41 weeks and 43 weeks respectively.^[9] On the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, it reached number one and stayed there for thirteen consecutive weeks.^[10] It also hit number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first single to chart in the top 50 of the Hot 100 and their highest-charting single to date.^[11]

"Pain" also peaked at number one on the Canadian rock chart for two weeks.^[12] It was the most-requested song ten weeks in a row. It also reached number one on the MuchMusic Countdown.^[13]

Music video

The music video for "Pain" was directed by Tony Petrossian and was shot in August 2006.^[14] It was released on September 18, 2006.^[15] The video features the band playing the song in what looks to be an abandoned mansion or warehouse, and it also features shots of troubled youths who are lip-syncing to the song. At the end of the song, everyone (youths and the band members alike) is shown to be tattooed with a red "X" on the back of their necks, signifying the name of the parent album, One-X.

Pain EP

The Pain EP is a digital exclusive. It features the main version of "Pain" along with stripped acoustic versions of both "Pain" and "Animal I Have Become".^[6]

1. "Pain" – 3:22
2. "Pain (stripped acoustic version)" – 3:18
3. "Animal I Have Become (stripped acoustic version)" – 3:44

Awards and nominations

"Pain" was nominated for "Best International Video By A Canadian" at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards and won the BMI Awards in 2006 along with their other single "Animal I Have Become".^[16][17] The song won a BDS Certified Spin Award based on the 100,000 spins it received.^[18] Billboard ranked the song at number 25 on their "Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs" list.^[19]

Personnel

Credits for "Pain" adapted from the album's liner notes.^[20]

Three Days Grace Adam Gontier – lead vocals Brad Walst – bass guitar, backing vocals Neil Sanderson – drums, organ, backing vocals Barry Stock – lead guitar Additional musicians Howard Benson – keyboards

Production Howard Benson – producer, programming Chris Lord-Alge – mixing Ted Jensen – mastering Mike Plotnikoff – recording Casey Stone – engineering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006–07) Peak position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[21] 52 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[22] 38 Canada Rock (Billboard)[12] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 44 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[10] 1 US Pop 100 (Billboard)[23] 47 Chart (2021) Peak position Czech Republic Rock (IFPI)[24] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Canada Rock (Radio & Records)[25] 2 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[26] 8 US Mainstream Rock Songs (Billboard)[27] 3 All-time charts Chart (All-time) Position US Mainstream Rock Songs (Billboard)[19] 25

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28]	Platinum	80,000‡
United States (RIAA)[29]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref(s).
Various	September 19, 2006	Digital download	Main	Jive	[2]
United States	September 25, 2006	Alternative radio			[30]
		Mainstream rock			[31]
Various	February 25, 2007	Digital download	Acoustic EP		[6]
United States	June 8, 2008	Contemporary hit radio	Main		[8]
Various	October 14, 2008	Digital download	Pleasure Mix		[7]