"Ohio Is for Lovers" is a song by American rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Hawthorne Heights

Hawthorne Heights

Hawthorne Heights is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their line-up currently consists of lead-singer and rhythm guitarist JT Woodruff, lead-guitarist and vocalist Micah Carli, bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ridenour, and drummer Eron Bucciarelli...

. It was released as the debut single in 2004 from their debut full-length studio album, The Silence in Black and White

The Silence in Black and White

The Silence in Black and White is the debut studio album by American rock band Hawthorne Heights. It was released on June 1, 2004 through Victory Records. The album was the label's highest selling debut at the time of its release...

. It was produced by Jay Orpin

Jay Orpin

Jay Orpin is a Swedish and Finnish songwriter and producer. He also writes songs and produced for The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Robyn, Ace of Base, Bon Jovi, 2gether and Britney Spears, and later he produced songs for Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Hawthorne Heights, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, My...

. According to lead vocalist JT Woodruff, the song is about going on tour whilst leaving their girlfriends behind in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The song is frequently considered the band's signature song and has been jokingly referred to as "The Emo Anthem" for its lyrical content. It peaked at #34 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Alternative Songs Chart. When the music video for the song began getting airplay on MTV, it gave the band widespread popularity, resulting in the Silence in Black and White being certified gold in the United States.

An acoustic version of the track was recorded on the album's re-issue.

Music video

The music video was directed by Shane Drake

Shane Drake

Shane C. Drake is an American music video director originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for bands such as Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves, Flo Rida, Timbaland, Blindside, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Almost, Hawthorne Heights and...

. The video features footage of the band performing in an old building whilst a little girl is shown aging rapidly and a spider

Spider

Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...

 is spinning its web. According to JT Woodruff, the band members were wearing each other's clothing.

Personnel

• JT Woodruff - lead vocals
  Lead vocalist
  The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Matt Ridenour - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , backing vocals
• Micah Carli - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Eron Bucciarelli - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Casey Calvert - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  s, unclean vocals
  Death growl
  A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...