Weezer Honor Essential Workers With New Outcast Anthem 'Hero'

send a hopeful note around the world in the video for their new song, “Hero,” off their upcoming album, Van Weezer.

The track is a classic Weezer anthem packed with plenty of big, meaty guitar riffs and lyrics from Rivers Cuomo that grapple with personal dreams of greatness and feeling like an outcast. “Everybody needs a hero but I’m not everybody else,” he sings, “I walk alone, yeah, I walk alone/You know I tried to be a hero but I was lying to myself/I walk alone.”

Despite the solemn tinge to the song, in the description on YouTube, Weezer offered up “Hero” as a tribute to “the stay at home dreamers, the Zoom graduators, the sourdough bakers and the essential workers.” The clip opens with Cuomo penning a letter that’s passed along between Weezer fans who submitted short videos to create one giant chain. At the end, the letter is finally opened to reveal a heartfelt thank you to essential workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. “Your bravery and selflessness are awe-inspiring,” Cuomo writes. “You are the reason we shall rock another day.”

To mark the release of “Hero,” Weezer has also teamed with Postmates and the volunteer group, Feed Hero Nurses, to deliver meals to the nurses at Los Angeles’ Good Samaritan Hospital tonight, May 6th.

Weezer was set to release Van Weezer this month, but in sharing “Hero,” they announced that they would be pushing back the LP because of the coronavirus. “And because we don’t want to give another release date until we’re absolutely sure of it, we’ll just say ‘stay tuned for more info,’” the band added. “In the meantime, we’re working hard on getting you all the new Weezer you can handle including music and more surprises getting announced later this week.”