One Headlight

The song was written by lead vocalist Jakob Dylan, and is the second to be written during the recording of Bringing Down the Horse in Los Angeles. Dylan has stated that the song is about "the death of ideas".^[6] Dylan did not intend to write a hit song, but wrote it with the intention of wanting to impress and work with a producer. He was able to share the song with him, and thought the producer enjoyed the song, but Dylan did not hear back from the producer after he left.^[7] He began writing this song after a recent record with Virgin Records was considered a disappointment. Feeling the band deserved a second chance, he wrote the song at a kitchen table in Los Angeles. He was inspired by Leon Russell, Dr. John, and Al Green, and felt there was a "place for that type of feeling and mood on the radio."^[4] Some lyrics were inspired by that of Bruce Springsteen, with references to "Independence Day" (1981) and "One Step Up" (1988).^[8]

The music video was filmed in New York City in February 1997 and features the band performing.^[9] They had made a previous version of the video, which Dylan described as a "murky representation", which he did not enjoy watching as he was reviewing the footage. They had eventually filmed the video in Dumbo, Brooklyn.^[4]

Although the song did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to the chart rules regarding singles at the time, it was a significant radio hit. It spent five weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and a total of 70 weeks on the chart.^[10] In March 1997, it became the first song to top all three of Billboard's rock airplay charts—the Modern Rock Tracks, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Triple-A charts.^[11] In Canada, the song reached No. 1 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, staying there for five weeks and was also the third-most-successful song of the year.^[12][13] Outside North America, the song reached No. 14 in Australia and became a moderate hit in Germany and the United Kingdom.^[14][15][16]

The song won two Grammy Awards at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, Best Rock Song^[17] and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.^[18] The song was performed live at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards with Bruce Springsteen, where the music video was nominated four times, including for Viewer's Choice.

Australian CD single; UK 7-inch and CD single^[19][20][21]

1. "One Headlight" (radio edit) – 4:38
2. "6th Avenue Heartache" (acoustic) – 4:47
3. "Angel on My Bike" (live) – 4:46

European CD single^[22]

1. "One Headlight" (radio edit)
2. "Angel on My Bike" (live)

• List of Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number ones of the 1990s
• List of number-one singles of 1997 (Canada)