"This is Home" is a song written and recorded by American rock band Switchfoot for the soundtrack of the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The song was featured during the end credits of the film. It was the 17th-most-played song on U.S. Contemporary Christian music radio stations for 2008 according to R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart.

Song history

Jon Foreman posted in a March 17, 2008, MySpace blog that "I’m a big fan of CS Lewis so a movie made by the mouse, (Mickey) for the lion (Aslan) seemed like a good idea. So I’m up here (near Disneyland incidentally), tracking a song that may or may not be used for the next Narnia movie." On a March 22, 2008, blog, Foreman announced that the song's name would be "This Is Home". It was confirmed on April 2, 2008, by the Narnia Insider. The song was performed for the first time live at University of Iowa's Iowa Memorial Union on Wednesday night, April 16, 2008. Foreman said, "I'm a huge C.S. Lewis fan and one of the big reasons I love his writing is because there's a longing in every page of his fiction and non-fiction... He doesn't create worlds that are picture perfect, but they feel real, they feel like they could exist, and that's because it feels like this world here where we're all longing for things to be set right." "'This Is Home' was inspired by the book after re-reading it for the opportunity to write for the film. I am always taken by [C. S.] Lewis' ability to write about the bittersweet beauty in this world; this home we aren’t really made for but is the place we work out our humanity in the midst of our longing for our true home." The song was also featured on ESPN SportsCenter 's "Titletown" segment which ran throughout July 2008. The song's lyrics and message interpretation were specifically singled out by friends and mourners during the funeral of Christina Grimmie, as Switchfoot was Grimmie's favourite band, and C.S. Lewis was one of her favorite authors. Grimmie had originally intended to perform the song when competing on season 6 of The Voice and had wanted to dedicate the song to her friends and family.

Versions

There are five different versions/mixes of the song.

Release as a radio single

The single impacted to radio on April 25, 2008. Partnering with Walt Disney Records and in addition to local marketing surrounding the film, the band's Christian-side distributor, Sparrow Records under EMI CMG Label Group released "This Is Home" to AC and CHR Christian radio. The band's management team, Red Light Management/Entertainment, partnering with the Disney-owned Hollywood Records put the single out at mainstream AC and Triple A radio formats. In November, the new music video for the song was released by Sony, and the song was reshipped to radio, with little success.

Chart positions

Awards

The song was nominated for a Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 40th GMA Dove Awards.

Music videos

Version 1 (Prince Caspian)

The band shot a music video for the song, interspersed with footage from the actual movie on Sunday, April 13, 2008. The video premiered May 2, 2008, on Disney.com, and was posted on the band's official website as streaming YouTube video three days later. The video is included in the enhanced portion of the soundtrack carried in certain stores.

Version 2

The band shot another music video, and it was released on YouTube November 19, 2008. It featured an introductory speech about the song by Foreman at the beginning, and features live footage from a concert the band played. Sony owns the copyright to the video, so it is assumed the video was shot for promotion of "The Best Yet" compilation.

Other appearances