The Anthem
by Good Charlotte
- 89
- BPM
- Db major
- Key
- 3B
- Camelot
- 50
- Danceability
- 1
- Acousticness
Joel Madden was 19 and in Los Angeles for the first time when he met the producer John Feldmann. The two went surfing together. Feldmann mentioned that a film was looking for a soundtrack song. Madden wrote one with his brother Benji. It became "The Anthem" by Good Charlotte. The film passed on it.
The band put it out anyway on January 13, 2003, as the second single from The Young and the Hopeless. Joel said he had not thought it would be a big song, despite the title. He described it as being about not living the way a person is supposed to live. In America, success is supposed to mean college, a job, a house, two cars and a family. He was proud to be looked down on for making something happen without many opportunities growing up. Guitarist Billy Martin added that it was about reaching whatever goal a person has.
It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 56 and peaked at number 43. In the United Kingdom it reached number 10. The second disc of the UK CD single carried a live cover of "Acquiesce" by Oasis. The US certification reached triple platinum in June 2025.
The Anthem runs at 89 BPM, the tempo of boom-bap hip-hop, reggae and slow R&B. In classical terms it sits in andante territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 2.7 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 674 ms. It is in Db major, Camelot 3B, which shares its notes with Bb minor and mixes cleanly with F# major and Ab major.
We use multiple sources as part of our online research for the song story including Wikipedia.