Korn frontman Jonathan Davis expels a lot of anger in this song, where he deals with his tendency to spiral into self-loathing. The song plays out as an inner dialogue where he's working all this out, coming to the conclusion that he can't escape from himself - he's here to stay.
Korn set a new standard for expressing deep personal anguish in songs. Jonathan Davis always channeled his negative thoughts into his lyrics, which could be shocking but also refreshing to listeners who harbored similar feelings. "Here To Stay" is a great example of how he lays bare his struggles with mental health at a time when it wasn't fashionable to do so in songs. As anxiety and depression started to plague more and more young people, Korn's music, and this song in particular, became even more relevant. The band picked up a new generation of fans in the 2010s and particularly in the 2020s after the pandemic.
"Here To Stay" was a return to action for Korn. It was released in 2002 as the lead single from Untouchables, their first album since Issues in 1999. The band members did solo projects and worked on movie soundtracks during much of this time off. The song was welcomed by fans and charted at #72 in America, which is pretty good for Korn. The album sold a million copies, a steep decline from the 3 million sold for Issues, but it was a very different time, with illegal downloading cutting into album sales and Korn's nu metal sound falling out of favor.
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