Kodaline's Steve Garrigan reveals 'High Hopes' born from anxiety

Kodaline frontman Steve Garrigan has shared intimate details about the creation of the band's breakthrough single, "High Hopes." Garrigan revealed that the song, which propelled Kodaline to international fame, originated from a deeply personal and challenging time in his life.

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This piano is very, very old. It's from my parents' house. I grew up playing it. I first played it when I was about seven years old and would sit there for hours messing around, learning music, writing bits of songs and eventually writing full songs.

He explained that "High Hopes" was written on an old family piano, an instrument that holds significant sentimental value and was a constant presence during his childhood. Garrigan recalled spending hours at the piano, learning music and eventually writing songs. A unique quirk of this piano, being tuned down a semitone, influenced Kodaline's signature sound, leading the band to tune all their instruments similarly.

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For me, it's the first song I wrote. I mean, I wrote a lot of terrible stuff before that, but when I wrote High Hopes, I thought, 'I think I actually wrote a song.' At the same time, it came from a really honest and real place because I had started having panic attacks. It was about everything that was going on for me at the time - anxiety and panic attacks, not knowing about the future, all of it. It just came out on this piano.

Garrigan described the period when he wrote the song as being marked by anxiety and panic attacks. "It came from a really honest and real place because I had started having panic attacks," he stated. Despite its emotional depth and eventual success, Garrigan admitted he initially felt uncertain about the song's potential, simply believing it was a good piece of music.

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I didn't really know that it was special. I just felt it was a good song.

The first person to hear the song was Garrigan's father, whose reaction remains a fond memory for the singer. Now embarking on Kodaline's Farewell Tour, which includes dates in Ireland on June 19 and 20, 2026, Garrigan reflected on how a song born from personal struggle became a global anthem.

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There were times when I'd be banging away on the piano while he was trying to watch TV in the other room, saying, 'Would you ever shut up?' But he came in, I played it for him and he said, 'That's great. Are you going to college tomorrow?'