'90s Rock Frontman Forgets the Words While Covering a Beloved Wallflowers Hit

The Foo Fighters are undoubtedly one of the most talented bands to come out of the ’90s, but that doesn’t mean they take themselves too seriously. From wacky videos to onstage antics, the band (and in particular frontman Dave Grohl) has always brought an element of playfulness to the stage. Despite being together for 32 years and weathering extremely hard times like the loss of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, they have remained youthfully silly.

A recent show they put on proves just that. While covering the ’90s hit “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers, Grohl began singing gibberish when he completely forgot the lyrics.

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“You sang this song in college, I know you did…” he said before he began playing.

People found the moment completely endearing.

“He’s hilarious. It’s awesome when he mumbles lyrics or blows a big raspberry into the microphone. He cracks me up,” wrote one fan.

“This was hilarious!! So glad I saw it,” added another concertgoer.

Related: 1970s Rock Legend, Who Led One of History’s Greatest Bands, Got His Start Singing Bubblegum Pop

Dave Grohl’s Terrible Lyrical Reputation

Though some thought that his forgetfulness was “rude” and disrespectful to the band, to be fair, Grohl has forgotten the lyrics to his own songs live before. In 2023, during a livestream event that introduced new member Josh Freese, Grohl lost his grip on their hit song “Monkey Wrench” and burst out laughing at his own faux pas. Before that, in 2015, Grohl famously forgot the lyrics to one of AC/DC‘s songs while he was performing a live cover. Instead of singing the line, “All across the land every rockin’ band was blowin’ up a storm,” Grohl sang gibberish—“Heygongaboonadadanoo”—to make up for the mistake and kept it moving.

Having been in Nirvana and leading The Foo Fighters for decades, it is fair to say that Grohl has left an indelible mark on the music industry, but it’s not a role he takes too seriously. When he isn’t messing up lyrics, he’s candidly admitted that some of his own handiwork wasn’t the best it could be. On an episode of Hot Ones Versus, Grohl admitted that some of his own lyrics were peak cringe.

“I swear there’s so many that I hate,” shared Grohl, according to Loudwire. “I was thinking about this song today in the shower. I’d probably say the song ‘D.O.A.'”

The line “It’s a shame we have to die my dear / No one’s getting out of here alive” is the one that the singer named as his cringiest.

“I just thought that’s so fucking stupid,” said Grohl. “I feel like that’s one of those I wrote where you guys were like, ‘Dave (pats table) anything, just sing something.'”

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