"The Riddle" is the title of a song written and recorded by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer/songwriter Five for Fighting

Five for Fighting

Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman " , "100 Years" , and "The Riddle" .-Early years:...

. It was released in May 2006 as the lead single from the album Two Lights

Two Lights (album)

Two Lights is the fourth album from the piano rock artist Five for Fighting. The first single is titled "The Riddle". The song was released on June 14, 2006, and the album was released on August 1, 2006.-Track listing:# "Freedom Never Cries" – 4:22...

. The song peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 during an 18-week chart stay. On the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

 chart, the song reached number 4.

Background and content

John Ondrasik has stated that it was the hardest to write of any of his songs, taking 18 months to write. By the end, he had over 100 drafts before he came up with the final version. Although it began as a song on the meaning of life, it later evolved into a song about the love between a father and his son, inspired by his relationship with his own five-year-old son.

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor, of 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...

magazine gave the song a mixed review, calling it "refreshingly more uptempo and optimistic than previous 'Superman' and '100 Years,' albeit still probing for the meaning of life." He goes on to say that "the sap factor is pretty high here, limiting the song's appeal to moms and wistful philosophers, and there's little remaining doubt that Five for Fighting is pretty much a one-trick pony."

Music video

In July 2006, a music video was released to accompany the single, directed by Vem (also credited for directing the videos for O.A.R.'s "Love and Memories" and The Click Five's "Just the Girl

Just the Girl

"Just the Girl" is a single by The Click Five taken from their album Greetings from Imrie House, released on August 16, 2005.So far the single is the band's highest-charting mainstream single to date, reaching #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100....

").

The video features Five for Fighting's frontman John Ondrasik allowing his imagination to run wild, when he finds a crayon in the sand while waiting for a tow truck to collect his overheated '65 Mustang. Hastily he scribbles a piano to perform the ballad, and then draws and colors out all sorts of various distractons, including buzzards, rainclouds and jet fighters.

Charts

Chart (2003-2004)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	40
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...	8
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...	4
U.S. Billboard Pop100	39
Australian ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...  Singles Chart	32
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	32