Lithium (Evanescence song)

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For the Nirvana song, see Lithium (Nirvana song).
“Lithium”
“Lithium” cover
Lithium (Part 1)
Single by Evanescence
from the album The Open Door
B-side "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"
Released January 8, 2007
Format CD single
Recorded 2006
Genre Alternative rock
Piano rock
Length 3:44
Label Wind-up
Writer(s) Amy Lee
Producer Dave Fortman
Evanescence singles chronology
"Call Me When You're Sober"
(2006)		 "Lithium"
(2007)		 "Sweet Sacrifice"
(2007)
The Open Door track listing
Weight of the World
(3)		 Lithium
(4)		 Cloud Nine
(5)
Alternate covers
Lithium (Part 2)
Lithium (Part 2)
Lithium Radio Promo
Lithium Radio Promo
Picture Disc
Picture Disc

"Lithium" is the second single from Evanescence's second studio album The Open Door, and was written by Amy Lee. Originally to be released in the UK on December 4, 2006,[1] new dates were later set. It has no connection to the early-90s grunge band Nirvana's 1992 hit.

Contents

[edit] Story behind the song

In an interview with MTV Italy Amy Lee says:

“ It's not literal, it's not literal about the drug for me, I've never taken lithium before. It's sort of a metaphor about numbness and happiness and sort of like, it's me looking at happiness in a negative way because I've always been, you know, kind of afraid to be happy. Like with the band and the art and everything else, it's always like I'm never letting myself break through into the happiness it seems like, because it's not cool or something. And describing happiness is lithium, it's like saying 'that's numbness, I won't be able to be an artist anymore if I'm happy', which is hilarious because that's just not true, I'm happy. So it's like this fight within the song of like 'do I do this and get out of here and get happy or do I wallow in it like I always do?' and it's cool because at the end of the song I say 'I'm going to let it go', like I am going to be happy. ”

—Amy Lee, MTV Italy[2]

Lee previously stated in an interview with VH1 that she wrote the chorus on the guitar when she was about 16, later filling in the verses while writing The Open Door.[3]

Despite the many references to letting go of depression and darkness in the lyrics, lithium carbonate is typically used as a mood stabilizer to prevent acute manic episodes in bipolar disorder.

[edit] Music video

Lee in white, representing happiness.
Lee in white, representing happiness.

The music video for "Lithium" was directed by Paul Fedor, and shot between October 31 and November 1, 2006. The video is set in a snowy cemetery and features two versions of Amy Lee representing the emotions of sorrow and happiness. The underwater scenes featured in the video are similar to those in the video for Going Under.

In reference to the video, Lee has been quoted saying:

“ There's the me in all white and it's really wintry, and then there's the all-in-black Amy under the surface of the water of this lake in the forest. So it's the happiness and the sorrow and we're almost singing to each other, trying to figure out how both of us can work. ”

—Amy Lee, MTV News[4]

After its release on MuchMusic.com exclusively to Canadian audiences on November 24, 2006, the video was ripped and placed on several other sites, such as YouTube and MySpace. The video was subsequently removed from MuchMusic.com, but later restored on December 4. Wind-up Records officially released the video on Evanescence's website on November 27,[5] and was released on iTunes December 19. The day it was first previewed and later premiered on TRL, December 24, Amy Lee stopped by the studio for a guest appearance on the show.

[edit] Track listing

  • Single (Part 1)
  1. "Lithium"
  2. "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"
  • Maxi (Part 2)
  1. "Lithium"
  2. "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"
  3. "All That I'm Living For" (Acoustic version)
  4. "Lithium" (Video/Acoustic version)
  • 7" Vinyl Picture Disc
  1. "Lithium"
  2. "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"

[edit] Charts

Chart
(2006/2007)		 Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles 24[6]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 39[7]
Argentina Top 40 Chart[8] 8
Australia ARIA Singles Chart 15
Austria Singles Top 75 41
Chile Top 100 Airplay 6
Colombia Top 100 59
Czech IFPI Chart 18
Brazil Hot 100 Singles & Tracks 14
Germany Singles Top 100 Chart 44
Greece Singles Top 50 Chart[9] 5
Ibero-America Top 100[10] 21
Ireland Singles Top 50 Chart 30
Lithuania Airplay Top 5[11] 1
Israel Galgalatz Israel Top 20 1
Italy Singles Top 50 2
Latin America Top 40 Airplay[12] 22
Mexico Top 100 Airplay 47
New Zealand Singles Top 40 16
Netherlands Mega Single Top 100 55
Poland Singles Chart 10
Spain Los 40 Principales[13] 10
Sweden Singles Top 60 Chart 23
Switzerland Singles Top 100 Chart 40
UK Singles Top 75 32
Europe Singles Top 200 Chart 29
Latin America Hot 100 Videos 5
Costa Rica Los 40 Principales 9

[edit] References

  1. ^ New single details!. EvanescenceUK.co.uk (2006-11-01). Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  2. ^ Tutto su Evanescence. MTV.it (2006-10-12). Retrieved on 2006-10-28.
  3. ^ Bottomley, C.. "Evanescence: Amy Lee Explains the New Songs", VH1.com, 2006-09-18. Retrieved on 2006-11-06. 
  4. ^ Moss, Corey. "After Facing Big Bad Wolf, Amy Lee Faces Herself In Evanescence Clip", MTV News via VH1.com, 2006-11-02. Retrieved on 2006-11-02. 
  5. ^ "New "Lithium" Video", Evanescence.com, 2006-11-27. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 
  6. ^ Bubbling Under Top 100 Singles. Billboard.com (2007-02-10). Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
  7. ^ Evanescence Chart History. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
  8. ^ Top 40 Argentina. Top40Argentina.com.ar.
  9. ^ Greek Top 50. IFPI Greece. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
  10. ^ Ibero América Top 100. AmericaTop100.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  11. ^ Lithuania Airplay Top 5. hitfm via Blogas.lt. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
  12. ^ Ranking del 03 de Junio de 2007 (Semana 22). TopLatino.net (2007-06-03). Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  13. ^ Los 40 Listas. Los40.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
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