The lyrics focus on the stereotypical lifestyle of a Rock star, once at the top. The material desires of the rock star are listed, but the practice needed to become proficient at rock music is never mentioned, hence why people are saying ‘life hasn’t turner out quite the way I want it to be’, rock star’s work their way up the chain to get to where they are so therefore it’s not the easiest route in life, all of the hard work pays off.
The video is clearly in the rock genre, with the final shots of the band we see their long hair, electric guitars, black clothing while on a black set etc. However Nickelback’s music has become so varied that they manage to attract a wide range of audiences. Another positive factor about the music video is that audiences might get personal identity through comparing their own situations with those in the song. The bands image in this song is only shown once however, Chad, is the only singer but isn’t shown singing at the end of the video.
The list below is from Wikipedia including the lyrics and who mimes them:
-Boy at a baseball field: "I'm through with standing in line to clubs I'll never get in"
-Lindsey Shaw in front of the Cloud Gate "It's like the bottom of the ninth"
-Man in front of the Flatiron Building: "and I'm never gonna win"
-Cindy Taylor on a pool float: "This life hasn't turned out"
-Old woman on the Millennium Bridge in front of St Paul's Cathedral: "quite the way I want it to be"
-Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top: "Tell me what you want" (voiceover)
-Wayne Gretzky: "I want a brand new house"
-Three women in Times Square: "on an episode of Cribs"
-Kendra Wilkinson in front of the Playboy Mansion: "And a bathroom I can play baseball in"
- Gene Simmons in front of his wall of gold and platinum records: "big enough for ten"
-Paul Wall in front of a highway: "plus me"
- Billy Gibbons again: "Yeah, so whatcha need" (voiceover)
-Park ranger at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park: "I'll need a, a credit card"
-Dominique Swain in a bubble bath: "that's got no limit"
-Three men (portraying a US MP, an East German border guard, and a civilian) at Checkpoint Charlie facing the American Sector: "And a big black jet"
-Twista, Mayz from the Speedknot Mobstaz, and B-Hype sitting in a limo: "with a bedroom in it"
- Man in Grand Central Terminal: "Gonna join the mile high club"
-Holly Madison in the Playboy Mansion grotto: "at thirty-seven thousand feet"
-Woman in Los Angeles: "Been there, done that" (Billy Gibbons voiceover)
-Brett Ryan in Union Square: "I want a new tour bus"
-The Wendy Osserman Dance Company and Brett Ryan: "full of old guitars"
-Three girls on the bank of the Chicago River in front of Marina City: "My own star on Hollywood Boulevard"
-Gene Simmons again: "Somewhere between Cher"
-Paul Teutul, Sr. of American Chopper: "and James Dean is fine for me"
-Billy Gibbons again: "So how you gonna do it?" (voiceover)
-John Rich on a pool table with a banjo: "I'm gonna trade this life"
-Woman in Union Square: "for fortune and fame"
-Chuck Liddell: "I'll even cut my hair"
-Man in Chinese restaurant: "and change my name"
-Two Blazin' Saddles employees in front of a General Lee-inspired RV: "'Cause we all just wanna be"
-Eight kids in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge: "big rockstars"
-Wayne Gretzky again: "and live in hilltop houses"
-Parking valet at Jones Hollywood in West Hollywood: "driving fifteen cars"
-Brian Walton on Lambeth Palace Road in front of the Houses of Parliament: "The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap"
- Jenna Westerbeck sunbathing: "We'll all stay skinny"
- Kid Rock: "'cause we just won't eat/And we'll"
-Twista, Mayz, and B-Hype again: "hang out in the coolest bars"
-Jessie Coleman in Grand Central Terminal: "In the VIP"
-Eliza Dushku: "with the movie stars"
-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in front of a Union 76 gas station: "Every good gold digger's"
-Taryn Manning: "Gonna wind up there"
- Paul Wall again: "Every Playboy bunny"
-Two women in the middle of Davie Street: "With her bleach blond hair"
-Jerry Cantrell under Chicago's 'L' tracks and in front of Double Door: "And we'll/Hey hey"
-Liam Lynch in Union Square: "I wanna be a"
-Nelly Furtado on tour bus: "rockstar"
-Man in front of the same highway as Paul Wall above
- Man in Union Square
-Two women in Grand Central Terminal: "Hey"
-Chuck Liddell again with man in a headlock:"hey"
-Boy in grocery store: "I wanna be a rockstar"
-Paul Teutul, Jr., Paul Teutul, Sr., and Mikey from American Chopper flexing muscles
-Man in front of Marina City: "I wanna be great like Elvis"
- Elvis impersonator: "without the tassels"
-Federico Castelluccio from The Sopranos: "Hire eight body guards"
-Chuck Liddell again: "that love to beat up assholes"
- Grant Hill signing basketball: "Sign a couple autographs/So I can"
-Man in Union Square again: "eat my meals for free"
-Billy Gibbons again: "I'll have the quesadilla" (voiceover)
-Paul Wall again: "ha ha" (Billy Gibbons voiceover)
-Man and woman in the middle of Davie Street: "I'm gonna dress my ass"
-Ted Nugent: "with the latest fashion"
-Man and woman in front of the Cloud Gate: "Get a front door key"
-Kendra Wilkinson, Holly Madison, and Bridget Marquardt from The Girls Next Door: "to the Playboy mansion"
-Man in front of the Flatiron Building: "Gonna date a centerfold"
-Two teenagers in Washington Square Park: "that loves to blow my money for me"
-Billy Gibbons again: "So how you gonna do it?" (voiceover)
-Paul Teutul, Jr., Paul Teutul, Sr., and Mikey from American Chopper again: "I'm gonna trade this life"
-Man and woman in front of the Reichstag building: "For fortune and fame"
-Jordan Carlos overlooking Los Angeles: "I'd even cut my hair"
-Man in front of the New York Stock Exchange: "And change my name"
-Man at a pink bus-stop bench on Davie Street: "'Cause we all just wanna be"
- Lupe Fiasco on a table: "big rockstars"
-Woman in front of the Brandenburg Gate: "And live in hilltop houses"
-Woman in front of the Chicago Theater: "driving fifteen cars"
-Two women at the beach: "The girls come easy"
-Taryn Manning again: "and the drugs come cheap"
-Eliza Dushku again: "We'll all stay skinny"
-Woman in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge: "'cause we just won't eat"
-Three women dancing in front of the Yogi Snack in Berlin: "And we'll hang out in the coolest bars"
-Gene Simmons again: "In the VIP"
-Dominique Swain again: "with the movie stars"
-Lupe Fiasco again: "Every good gold digger's"
-Chuck Liddell again: "gonna wind up there"
-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. again: "Every Playboy bunny"
-Two girls in Times Square: "with her bleach blond hair"
- Man in front of Beverly Hills High School: "And we'll hide out in the private rooms"'
-Eliza Dushku again: "With the latest dictionary"
-Federico Castelluccio again: "and today's who's who"
-Riki Lindhome at Santa Monica beach: "They'll get you anything with that evil smile"
- Kid Rock again: "Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial/Well"
-Steel worker at Finkl Steel/Chicago: "Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar"
-John Rich again, smashing a guitar
-Three women in the middle of Davie Street: "I'm gonna sing those songs that offend the censors"
-Te'DeVan Rocketman Wacha Kurzweil in Union Square: "Gonna pop my pills from a Pez dispenser"
-Lupe Fiasco again: "Get washed-up singers"
- Boy in front of a mixing console: "writing all my songs"
- Gwenno Saunders overlooking Los Angeles: "Lip sync 'em every night"
- Daniel Self at City Market in Raleigh: "so I don't get 'em wrong"
-Man on street corner in New York City's Chinatown: "Well we all just wanna be"
- Man in front of Big Acorn in Raleigh: "big rockstars"
- Eight Blazin' Saddles employees at City Market in Raleigh: "And live in hilltop houses"
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. again:"driving fifteen cars"
- The Naked Cowboy in Times Square: "The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap"
- Woman at Santa Monica beach: "We'll all stay skinny"
-Brandon Berman in Times Square: "'cause we just won't eat"
- Cindy Taylor again: "And we'll hang out in the coolest bars"
- Woman in front of Buckingham Fountain: "In the VIP"
- Grant Hill again: "with the movie stars"
-Jayson Woolley in Union Square: "Every good gold digger's"
-Ted Nugent again: "gonna wind up there"
-Holly Madison again: "Every Playboy"
-Bridget Marquardt in a pink bed: "bunny with her bleach"
-Kendra Wilkinson again: "blond hair/And we'll"
- Laurie Picken standing next to City Hall in front of Tower Bridge: "hide out in the private rooms"
-Nelly Furtado again: "With the latest dictionary and today's"
- Two women in front of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge: "Who's Who/They'll get you anything"
-Kid Rock again: "with that evil smile/Everybody's"
- Ted Nugent again: "got a drug dealer on speed dial/Well"
-John Rich again: "hey"
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. again: "hey"
-Ironworker in front of Marina City: "I wanna be a rockstar"
- Wayne Gretzky again, splashing a pool with a hockey stick
-Kendra Wilkinson again dancing
- Nelly Furtado again: "Hey"
-Gene Simmons again: "hey"
-Nickelback fans at Comcast Center for the Performing Arts concert singing: "I wanna be a rockstar"
-Pan to Chad Kroeger, pan to Mike Kroeger and Ryan Peake
