Amber (song)

"Amber" is the third single from the band 311's 2001 album From Chaos. Focusing more on their reggae roots, the song is about Nick Hexum's then fiancee and then Eden's Crush member Nicole Scherzinger. Scherzinger appears briefly in the music video, playing in the ocean with Hexum. Although it is not one of the highest charting singles from 311 since it hit number 13 on the Modern Rock chart, it had more attention and popularity than any of their Top 10 singles on the chart, remains their longest lasting song on the Alternative Rock chart, and is their most popular single from the band due to its media usage and it is the only single by 311 to have a certification by the RIAA, achieving Gold status seeing this as the band's signature song.

The song's intro was remixed on Greatest Hits '93-'03.

Use in media

A live performance video clip of "Amber" was featured on the DVD extras for the 2004 movie, 50 First Dates starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The CD version of "Amber" was featured in the movie itself.

Amber

Amber is fossilized tree resin (not sap), which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry.

There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material as inclusions. Amber occurring in coal seams is also called resinite, and the term ambrite is applied to that found specifically within New Zealand coal seams.

History and names

The English word amber derives from Arabic ʿanbar عنبر , Middle Latin ambar and Middle French ambre. The word was adopted in Middle English in the 14th century as referring to what is now known as ambergris (ambre gris or "grey amber"), a solid waxy substance derived from the sperm whale. In the Romance languages, the sense of the word had come to be extended to Baltic amber (fossil resin) from as early as the late 13th century. At first called white or yellow amber (ambre jaune), this meaning was adopted in English by the early 15th century. As the use of ambergris waned, this became the main sense of the word.

Song

A song is a single (and often standalone) work of music intended to be sung by the human voice with distinct and fixed pitches and patterns using sound and silence and a variety of forms that often include the repetition of sections. Written words created specifically for music or for which music is specifically created, are called lyrics. If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in classical music it is an art song. Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants. Songs in a simple style that are learned informally are often referred to as folk songs. Songs that are composed for professional singers are called popular songs. These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers and lyricists. Art songs are composed by trained classical composers for concert performances. Songs are performed live and recorded. Songs may also appear in plays, musical theatre, stage shows of any form, and within operas.