Our Lady Peace have re-recorded "Whatever," originally recorded for the WWF Forceable Entry compilation. The song would be entrance music for Chris Benoit from his 2002 return until his death in 2007, in a weekend that saw the murders of both his wife Nancy and his son Daniel prior to his own suicide by hanging.
Among other things such as steroid abuse and CTE, a prevailing theory behind Benoit's decline was the death of his longtime friend Eddie Guerrero, who passed in the fall of 2005.
The band stated the following along with the video of the new recording:
"It’s been 23 years since the tragic events surrounding WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and the theme song we wrote for him.
We feel that enough time has passed that it was necessary to re-record “Whatever” to help shine a light on suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
We’re donating all monies earned from streaming Whatever to suicide prevention initiatives across North America."
The band have only recently begun performing the song live, namely back in February at their Calgary, AB show in their native Canada:
The redux is in a lower key than the original (C# as opposed to D), and features some minor changes to the lyrics. Musically, the song is mostly the same, though the pinch harmonics in the main riff are replaced by bends, and the guitar solo is slightly bluesier than the original recording's was.
Given how this song and the man it is associated with are difficult talking points within the wrestling world, Our Lady Peace's gesture here is a welcome one. While the song will forever be linked to unspeakable tragedy, this new version helps to bring some light amid all of its darkness.
Check out the redux of "Whatever" below:
