Evanescence’s Amy Lee Reveals Who ‘Bring Me to Life’ Was Written About

Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee has revealed who the band’s breakout single, “Bring Me to Life,” was written about. In a new interview, Lee says it was her husband who inspired her to sing, “Wake me up inside,” but she wrote the song’s lyrics before the two were even dating.

“Bring Me to Life” remains one of the biggest and most recognizable hits of the 2000s across all genres. The song has been certified platinum or multi-platinum in at least five countries and remains Evanescence’s highest charting single on Billboard, peaking at No. 5 on the Hot 100 and hitting No. 1 on Alternative Airplay.

“I wrote it about my current husband before we were married,” Lee tells Sonic Seducer. “There was this moment, I was in a tough place and in a bad relationship, and my husband now, Josh, at the time was just a friend and a person that I barely knew. It was maybe the third or fourth time we’d ever met and we went in to go grab a seat at a restaurant while our friends parked the car. We sat across from each other, and he looked at me and he just said, ‘So, are you happy?’”

She continues, “And it took me so off guard, and I just felt like it pierced my heart, because I felt like I had been pretending really well, and it was, like, somebody could see through me. And then that whole first verse came out of it — ‘How can you see into my eyes, like open doors.’ It really made me feel and recognize the sense of yearning that I had to get to a better place and it really kind of set me out on a journey. It’s amazing that that became the song, the first song that broke us on to the scene and made everyone hear of us, because it was about something so personal that I was recognizing in my life.” [via Blabbermouth]

EVANESCENCE: “The Bitter Truth” Amy Lee Album Interview

“Bring Me to Life” would go on to win a Best Rock Performance Grammy and launch Evanescence into superstardom. The band’s latest album, The Bitter Truth, came out this year and features Evanescence’s first new collection of music in a decade.

“This is a country at war with itself, and I hate that,” Lee told Loudwire in an exclusive interview. “I don’t want to add to the madness, I don’t wanna be in there screaming. I don’t think screaming your opinions from on top of a building is actually going to change anybody’s mind.”