The Story of... 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' by The Script - as told by the band
17 October 2019, 16:53 | Updated: 23 October 2019, 14:18
The Script's Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power released 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' in 2008 to huge success.
'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' was the second single from Irish band The Script from their self-titled debut album.
The song was first released on July 25, 2008, and entered the UK singles chart at number 30, eventually peaking at number two, narrowly missing the top spot to Katy Perry's 'I Kissed A Girl'.
The Script's Danny and Mark spoke exclusively to Smooth Radio to tell listeners all about The Story of... 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'. Watch the full video above, and read more below:
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Why did you write 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'?
Danny told Smooth Radio: "There was this feeling I think we had when we were writing an album, we'd kind of completed our album and were very unsure at the time about what songs we wanted to portray and what we wanted to be as a band.
"The record label had basically closed the album. They were all high-giving because we had songs like 'We Cry' and 'Breakeven', but 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' was one of the last songs to have come along.
"We'd describe it as a Forrest Gump-style song. It was a song that I didn't actually go back to the corner where I first met my ex-girlfriend."
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What is the meaning behind 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' and what is the song about?
Danny said: "The song was about true emotion and true love and not having, in a day where a lot of people would be able to buy somebody back or give them enough flowers to win them back. What happens to the people who don't have money? What do they do?
"To do something selfless and to do something that you don't really know and to kind of put it out there with fate. That's what we wanted from the song.
"We just wrote the song like a Forrest Gump-style character who goes back to the place where he first met and he doesn't know why. He just wants to sit there and he's going to wait.
"Hopefully her friends will see him there and maybe it will come back to her and maybe she'll come to him.
"In the bridge it's 'Maybe I'll get famous as the man who can't be moved. And maybe you won't mean to but you'll see me on the news. And you'll come running to the corner and you'll know it's just for you'. I believe that was missing at the time."
Mark added: "A little insight into why we wrote it was also the middle late is 'One day you'll see me on the news, you'll hear me on the radio'... that was the literal part of the song. The whole point of that was we were both going through breakups... not the same girl.
"But you don't want to give them homage and let them know it's about them. So that was a way to say hopefully one day you'll see that we got the real job. It actually worked out!
"The cool thing about not letting any of the exes know the song is about them because they all think it's about them. That's the thing about being vain! You probably think this song is about you. And it isn't, it isn't about you! It's about the other one."
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When did you know the song would be a hit?
Danny said: "What was beautiful about it was the rest of the world agreed and the song just took off and it really changed our lives. It's put clothes on our backs and put a roof over our heads so to me that's the real power and magic of music.
"You never really know how it's doing until you get to see the mid-week results. They were like: 'It's you or Katy Perry!' I was sitting on the corner waiting for a girl to come back and she was 'I kissed a girl and I liked it'... that was the song we were up against.
"I just could not believe it because Katy Perry was such a huge artist to us. I couldn't believe we were fighting for any position with her."
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Who has covered 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'?
Danny revealed: "We realised it was a massive hit when we started seeing famous people singing the song. Ed Sheeran doing a cover version of it. You know, there's amazing things that are just staple diets now.
"One night he just picks a song and says, 'I love The Script'. It got sent to me and I couldn't believe it and thought it was amazing. So good!"
The pair went on to reveal when they heard the song being played in the back of a pub scene on Coronation Street, that's when then knew they had "made it".
Ed Sheeran and Chris Leonard Man that can't be moved
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Where was the music video for 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' filmed?
The video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and features Danny walking around Downtown Los Angeles, spliced with shots of the full band playing the song in a car park.
Danny can be seen sitting on the pavement patiently singing about how he is waiting for a girl to come and meet him as crowds begin to gather around him as he makes the news headlines.
Near the end of the video, time-lapse scenes of days and seasons passing are shown to push forward the amount of time Danny has been waiting.
The video ends with a close-up on Danny, who is still waiting as the girl has yet to come to him.
The Script - The Man Who Can’t Be Moved (Official Video)
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What is The Script's latest song?
The Script's latest song is called 'The Last Time', released in September 2019.
The Script - The Last Time (Official Video)
