SONG #43 - Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

What a beautifully haunting song. If you haven't noticed, I tend to like male singer/songwriters and bands w/ male singers. I'm not trying to be sexist, it's just my preference. Of the 43 songs I've written about so far, only 3 (Kelly Clarkson, Ace of Base, The Cranberries) are women-driven songs, and a couple of others have a prominent female voice in the song. THIS.. however.. THIS SONG is incredible and Amy Lee's vocals have a lot to do with it. The song came out in 2003, when I was just starting my first ministry at  St. John's. I had a couple of students who were really drawn into Evanescence's music, and I felt that this song (and the rest of the album) captured the mood of what a lot of my student's were experiencing at that moment.

What I love/d about this song is that for as angsty as it is, there is a lot of hope involved. The singer is singing about someone who looks at her differently, and she is willing to have this person know her fully, and in fact she wants this person to "Bring her to Life" (hence the title). When considering God in that role, it makes all kinds of sense.

Anyway.. the song just takes me back to those early days of ministry, which also was a weird, awkward, wonderful, but lonely time for me. I was dating Sarah, and while it was a good relationship, she was focused on college and I was just pretty much trying to survive life on my own. I know this was part of my playlist in my apartment on N. Scott Street as I grew more on my own.

Some Specific elements I liked about the song: The piano intro (YES!), The back & forth vocal performances from Lee AND Paul McCoy (of the band12 Stones) on the chorus, specifically McCoy's "screaming" at the end, and the orchestral fade-out at the end. MAN do I love good music, and this certainly qualifies.

Inducted on 10-02-2015