Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” Lyrics Meaning

Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” is a song that comes with a specific history. And being privy to it would elucidate what the symbolism used throughout is actually based on. And in a way, even though it doesn’t read as a conventional love song, to some degree “Bring Me to Life” can still be classified as one.

When this song was conceptualized, Amy Lee, the frontwoman of Evanescence, was going through a specific period in her life highlighted by a toxic/abusive relationship. Then one day she met someone whom she described as “a friend of a friend”. After having a very-terse conversation with this guy, he was able to perceive that Amy was suffering emotionally despite the fact that, to her understanding, she was not displaying any overt signs of such.

And that experience changed her life, as we can conclude from this song’s lyrics. Ultimately she considers their exchange to be tantamount to an awakening. The impression the song gives is that her depression was so deep that she withdrew into a shell so to speak. And the person whom she is addressing has the wherewithal to save her from being stuck inside of it. And based on the aforementioned foundation of “Bring Me to Life”, we can also hypothesize that what impressed her about this individual the most was not only his perceptive abilities but also that he actually cared.

The reason we can also conclude that it is a love song, even though there is no overt signification of such, is based on the fact that this selfsame person, Josh Hartzler, whom touch Amy’s life went on to become her husband a few years after this song was released. Moreover she admitted in an interview that she liked him “a lot” at the time of the penning of this song.

Different Interpretations

But being that the track is once again devoid of any overt-romantic references, it has been interpreted in different way, even logically as a religious song. However, such is not its actual conceptual foundation.  Rather in the very least we can say that the singer is addressing someone who has had a profound impact on her life. And based on what is being expressed in the chorus, he has the potential to do her exponentially more good, specifically in terms of helping her overcome depression. Simply put, he has the ability to bring her to life.

Amy Lee talks about “Bring Me to Life”

In a 2016 interview Amy Lee had with music website SongFacts, she shed a great deal of light on what “Bring Me to Life” is all about. According to her, she wrote the song about a special man in her life named Josh Hartzler. Amy and Hartzler got married in 2007 and welcomed their first child together in 2014. According to her, she wrote the song when she met Hartzler for the first time.

Release Date of “Bring Me to Life”

Evanescence released this classic through Wind-up Records on 11 March 2003. It was the lead single from their critically acclaimed debut album titled Fallen.

Such a successful song

Till date, “Bring Me to Life” is one of Evanescence’s biggest hits. The song became famous internationally due to also being featured on the soundtrack of the 2003 Marvel movie “Daredevil”.

Its feature on “Daredevil” exposed the track to a significantly-wider audience. And it hit accordingly, topping music charts in Australia, Italy, Scotland and the UK. Furthermore, it also topped a couple of Billboard lists (including the Mainstream Top 40) in the United States.

As for the Billboard Hot 100 itself, “Bring Me to Life” peaked at number 5. And in addition to that, it also made the top 5 in these countries:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Sweden

 Did “Bring Me to Life” win a Grammy?

Yes. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2004, which were Best Hard Rock Performance – which it actually won – and Best Rock Song.

“Bring Me to Life (Synthesis)”

Evanescence rearranged and re-released this track 2017. That particular version is entitled “Bring Me to Life (Synthesis)”. And the reason the word “synthesis” was added to its title was because it appeared on the band’s album Synthesis.

That said, it’s important to mention that Amy Lee had never been enthused that the original version of “Bring Me to Life” featured a rap element.

Who do the male vocals on “Bring Me to Life” belong to?

The male vocals in the song are performed by Paul McCoy. McCoy may be better known as a member of the rock band 12 Stones.

Is Amy Lee the sole writer of this song?

No. She co-wrote it with her band members Benjamin “Ben” Moody and David Hodges. Record producer Dave Fortman produced both this song and its multi-platinum selling album Fallen.