Geronimo (Sheppard song)

"Geronimo"
An overhead shot of turbulent blue to dark blue sea water with white spray. The artists' name is in stylised white-grey print in mid-photo, slightly tilting up towards the end. The single's name is in larger block capitals just below and is straight across.
Australian version
Single by Sheppard
from the album Bombs Away
Released 28 February 2014
Recorded Early 2014
Studio Heart Studios, Brisbane
Genre
Length 3:39
Label Empire of Song
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Stuart Stuart
Sheppard singles chronology
"Hold My Tongue"
(2013) 		"Geronimo"
(2014) 		"Something's Missing"
(2014)
Music videos
"Geronimo" on YouTube
"Geronimo" (International version) on YouTube
US release
Six adults are shown in half-body shot standing in front of vertical brown wood panelling. The man at left is the tallest and has his hands cradled in front of himself. He wears a dark red and blue checked short sleeved shirt above dark pants. He has dark curling hair and a sparse beard. The first woman is slightly behind him and is the shortest person, she has long blonde hair parted in the middle and falling in front. Her hands are at her waist. Her top is very dark purple, while her dress is light purple-blue vinyl or leather. She has a slight smile. The second man is slightly in front of her and is just shorter than the first man. He has dark hair partly cover by a hat which is pushed back. His top is dark purple polo or turtle neck with long-sleeves, his right arm shows the sleeve partly rolled back to mid-forearm the left side of his body is obscured. His pants are dark. The third man is just taller than the first woman and has dark straight hair combed to his right. He stands with his hands tucked into his dark pants. He appears to be screaming with his eyes closed. His top is a similar colour to the second man but it is a tee-shirt. The fourth man is taller than the third man and has fair to brown coloured curly hair. He wears glasses and has a beard. His shirt has purple, dark blue and thin white stripes. The second woman is nearly as tall as the second man, she has bright green-blue long hair on her left side. The other side is flung behind her right shoulder and is largely obscured. She wears a dark hat and dark zipped top over a dark dress. She has a large gold earring on her right. Her left arm is at her waist. Sheppard is written in large, white stylised print sloping slightly up. Geronimo is written in smaller pink block capitals just under the second half of the artists' name.
Band members (L to R): Dean Gordon, Emma Sheppard, Jason Bovino, George Sheppard, Michael Butler, Amy Sheppard.

"Geronimo" is the second single released, in February 2014, by Australian indie pop band Sheppard. It was written by three of its members, Jason Bovino with the siblings, George and Amy Sheppard, and was produced by Stuart Stuart at Analog Heart Studios, Brisbane. It is the first number-one single ever recorded in Brisbane and reached number one on the Australian Singles Chart in April 2014. Having held the position for three weeks, the song became the longest stay at the top of the charts for an Australian artist or band since "Battle Scars" by Guy Sebastian in August 2012. "Geronimo" also held the longest stay at number one on the Australian Singles Chart for any independent release. Furthermore, the track reached the top ten in eleven additional countries.

The title is a reference to the famous Apache military leader Geronimo and the custom of yelling his name before doing a courageous act. In the song, the courageous act is diving down a waterfall. It is also a reference to the Eleventh Doctor's quote "Geronimo!" in the popular sci-fi British drama Doctor Who. It was certified 7× platinum in Australia. It was also featured as the trailer theme for the 2015 Australian family film Paper Planes and appears in the 2015 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip and its soundtrack. It was also briefly used in Alpha and Omega 4: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave, Underdogs and Norm of the North. Sheppard performed the song in the 13th episode of the second season of the television series Girl Meets World, called "Girl Meets Semi-Formal", which aired on Disney Channel on 14 August 2015. The song was a sleeper hit in the United States, where it peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2015.

The Toby Morris directed music video was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2014 and the song for ARIA Award for Song of the Year.

Composition

"Geronimo" is written in the key of G major, with a tempo of 142 beats per minute.

Music video

The official music video, which incorporates many costumes and props made from cardboard, tells the story of a rebellion and two war-torn lovers, one played by the band's lead vocalist George Sheppard. The rebels bring to life a Frankenstein-like creature to aid their army. Amidst the chaos, the two lovers reunite and share a kiss. The video was published on YouTube on 1 August 2014 and had received over 49 million views by November 2021.

An alternate 'International Version' music video for the song shows the band performing the song in a warehouse, with various props spelling the word "Geronimo", clips of Sheppard running on a treadmill as various backgrounds are projected behind him and shadow puppets used to spell out the lyrics. This video was released on their YouTube channel on June 23, 2014.

Track listing

  • Digital download
  1. "Geronimo" – 3:37
  • Remixes (US Digital download)
  1. "Geronimo" – 3:38
  2. "Geronimo" (Benny Benassi Remix) – 4:30
  3. "Geronimo" (Matoma Remix) – 3:32
  4. "Geronimo" (D-Wayne Remix) – 4:57

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) 7× Platinum 490,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria) Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada) Gold 40,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) Gold 30,000^
Germany (BVMI) Gold 150,000‡
Italy (FIMI) 3× Platinum 150,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI) Platinum 20,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) Platinum 15,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway) Platinum 10,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) Gold 20,000‡
Sweden (GLF) 3× Platinum 120,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA) Platinum 1,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.