Synopsis

The Goo Goo Dolls perform "Iris" in and around a vast tunnel while John Rzeznik appears high above the city, turning antique telescopes toward the world below. The imagery shifts between the band playing together and Rzeznik's solitary observation, creating a mood of distance, longing, and emotional exposure. In the film-linked version, scenes from *City of Angels* are intercut with the band's performance, connecting the song's yearning perspective to the movie's angelic romance.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Iris" was written for the 1998 film *City of Angels*, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. It was later included on the Goo Goo Dolls' album *Dizzy Up the Girl*.

• There are two commonly circulated video versions. One centers on the band, the tunnel, and Rzeznik using telescopes, while another incorporates footage from *City of Angels*. This has led to some confusion over which edit viewers remember from the late 1990s.

• The telescope imagery gives the video a visual link to the song's theme of observing humanity from the outside. Rzeznik is physically separated from the people he watches, mirroring the song's focus on loneliness and the desire to be understood.

• The song's title is not mentioned in the lyrics, and no character named Iris appears in *City of Angels*. Rzeznik chose the name after seeing singer-songwriter Iris DeMent listed in an LA Weekly concert guide.

• The recording was expanded with a prominent string arrangement by David Campbell. Session guitarist Tim Pierce played the mandolin parts and contributed to the finished guitar sound.

• "Iris" became the Goo Goo Dolls' signature song and received three nominations at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

• The song became a major radio success despite not initially being released as a standard US Billboard Hot 100 single. It spent 18 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.

• The band's later live performance of "Iris" in Buffalo, filmed during heavy rain, is often circulated separately from the official 1998 music video and has become another defining visual associated with the song.