Foo Fighters Learn to Say Goodbye on New Song ‘The Teacher’

The Foo Fighters have released a massive new 10-minute song, “The Teacher” — and an accompanying short film — from their upcoming album, But Here We Are, out June 2nd.

The longest song in the Foo Fighters’ catalog, “The Teacher,” traverses an expansive sonic terrain — spare, vulnerable, and tender one moment, booming, ragged, amps-up-to-11 the next. “You showed me how to breathe, but never showed me how to say goodbye,” Dave Grohl sings, “You showed me how to be, but never showed me how to say goodbye/Every page turns, it’s a lesson learned in time/You showed me how to breathe, but never showed me how to say goodbye.”

“The Teacher” short film was directed by multimedia artist Tony Oursler, whom the Foo Fighters first learned about through his work with David Bowie (especially his video for Bowie’s 2013 single, “Where Are We Now?”). Oursler’s film for “The Teacher” is like a psychedelic collage, incorporating archival and stock footage and new sequences centered around Grohl and the band that have an otherworldly, occult-like aura. 

“The Teacher” is the fourth song Foo Fighters have shared from But Here We Are, following “Show Me How,” “Under You,” and “Rescued.” The album follows 2021’s Medicine at Midnight and marks the band’s first since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year.

Along with releasing But Here We Are, the Foo Fighters will spend much of the summer on the road, playing a mix of festival and headlining dates. They kicked off their packed itinerary earlier this month, introducing Josh Freese as their new drummer. They also enlisted Hawkins’ son, Shane, for a cameo performance during their headlining set at Boston Calling.