What If
By Creed
Album [Human Clay] 1999
Soundtrack [Scream 3]
I can't find the rhyme in all my reason
I've lost sense of time and all seasons
I feel I've been beaten down
By the words of men who have no grounds
I can't sleep beneath the trees of wisdom
When your ax has cut the roots that feed them
Forked tongues in bitter mouths
Can drive a man to bleed from inside out
What if you did?
What if you lied?
What if I avenge?
What if eye for an eye?
I've seen the wicked fruit of your vine
Destroy the man who lacks a strong mind
Human pride sings a vengeful song
Inspired by the times you've been walked on
My stage is shared by many millions
Who lift their hands up high because they feel this
We are one We are strong
The more you hold us down the more we press on
What if you did?
What if you lied?
What if I avenge?
What if eye for an eye?
I know I can't hold the hate inside my mind
'Cause what consumes your thoughts controls your life
So I'll just ask a question
What if?
What if your words could be judged like a crime?
"What If" is a song by Creed, released as the second single from their 1999 album Human Clay.
In this song, Scott Stapp sings about hatred and those who oppress others, possibly referring to critics of the band.
The song was used in the 2000 movie Scream 3, for which Creed helped to produce the soundtrack. The music video portrayed Creed band members being "killed" by the infamous Ghostface character from the Scream films. At the end of the video, the Ghostface takes off the mask and shows Scott Stapp (the singer of the song). The bands girlfriends quickly realize it was all a joke and that none of them were actually killed. The video features actor David Arquette.
According to guitarist Mark Tremonti, the intro was inspired by the song "Paint It, Black" by The Rolling Stones.
In 2006, Chris Daughtry performed this on American Idol.
Human Clay is the second album by Creed released on September 28, 1999. It was certified 11x platinum and 1x(+) Diamond by the RIAA, and is 54th on the top 100 selling albums of all time in the United States (as of February 2007). [1]The album has sold 11,504,000 copies in the USA alone according to Soundscan numbers as of January 2008. It has also been certified 6 times platinum in Canada, 5 times in Australia and 7 times in New Zealand among others. The second single "With Arms Wide Open" has won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The album had three video released from it: "Higher","What If," and "With Arms Wide Open," the last of which was voted the 92nd best video of all time by VH1. According to Mark Tremonti, the cover for the album represented a crossroad which every human finds himself in his life and the man of clay represented our actions, that what we are is up to us, that we lead our own path and make our own destiny.
Due to the band's utilization of strong songwriting and powerful ethos, Human Clay has been nearly unanimously deemed Creed's most accessible and artistically viable album. Since its release in 1999, the disc has only grown in critical stature and influence. It is widely considered a landmark achievement of 90's post-grunge rock.
This was the final album that featured Brian Marshall on bass guitar; he departed from the band shortly after the tour for the album in August 2000. Mark Tremonti filled as the bassist on their third and final album, Weathered, while Brett Hestla became their touring bassist.
The album artwork was rated in a tie with Creed's followup Weathered as the "worst album cover(s) in the first hundred years of recorded music" by review site Drop the Anvil.
