(I Just) Died in Your Arms

"(I Just) Died in Your Arms"

Single by Cutting Crew

from the album Broadcast

"For The Longest Time"

Released

July 25, 1986 (UK)
March 14, 1987 (U.S.)

Format

Recorded

1986

Length

4:41

Terry Brown
John Jansen
Cutting Crew

Cutting Crew singles chronology

"(I Just) Died in Your Arms"
(1986)

"I've Been In Love Before"
(1987)

Music sample
"I Just Died in Your Arms"

"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a power ballad written by Nick Van Eede and introduced by his band, Cutting Crew, in 1986. It was their biggest hit, peaking at #1 in the United States, Canada and Finland, and reaching the top five in the UK, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.

Contents

1 Background of the music and meaning of the title
2 Music video
3 Chart performance
4 "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" in popular culture
5 Covers and samples
6 Notes
7 References

Background of the music and meaning of the title

Vocalist Van Eede founded the group along with Canadian guitarist Kevin MacMichael in 1985, and the two made demos that led to a recording contract before bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin Beadle joined in 1986. The band recorded and released an album of all original material that same year and had an international hit with the song.

The actual words "I just died in your arms tonight" originally came to him while he was having sex with his girlfriend,^[1] the French phrase "la petite mort", or "a little death", being an obscure metaphor for orgasm. After writing down his version of the phrase, he later used it as the opening line to the song as well as using it as the chorus.

Music video

The music video was filmed both in color as well as in Black and White Photography in a film studio.^[2]

Chart performance

First released in Britain, the song peaked at #4 on the UK charts in August 1986. Upon its release in the United States, the previously unknown band's debut single shot to number one on May 2, 1987, and stayed there for two weeks. It also reached #4 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #24 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and (in a remix version) #37 on the Hot Dance/Club Play chart.^[3] The song spent three weeks at #1 in Canada.

Chart (1986/1987)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	24
Canada^[4]	1
Norway^[5]	1
Finland	1
Sweden^[5]	2
Ireland	2
U.K. Singles Chart	4
Germany^[6]	4
Switzerland^[5]	4
South Africa^[7]	4
Austria^[5]	9
Netherlands^[5]	16

"(I Just) Died In Your Arms" in popular culture

The song has been featured in many various films and television shows:

The 1999 film Never Been Kissed starring Drew Barrymore.
The 2007 film Hot Rod.
The 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine starring John Cusack.
The 2011 film Summer Bay Slaughter: Part 1 starring Alf Stewart.
The 2009 show "Glee"
It is part of the soundtrack of the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and was used in the 2008 video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore.
It is sung in the shower by supporting character Rabb Himself in the 2003 film Haggard: The Movie.
It was featured in Season 25, Episode 14 of the television show Saturday Night Live sketch "Wedding Singers", featuring Will Ferrell and Horatio Sanz as musicians who keep starting the song before their cue from the groom. Finally, when given the cue, they confess that they only remembered the first two lines of the song.^[8]
A commercial for 1000 Ways To Die
2011 was the song in a Swedish TV-Program called: Now We Blowing Sweden (Nu Blåser Vi Sverige)

Covers and samples

Covered in 1989 by Savage
Covered in 1995 by Canadian freestyle artist Joée, who returned the song to #1 in Canada but only cracked the U.S. Hot 100
Covered in 1999 by Finnish Gothic metal band To/Die/For
Covered in 2000 by Nu Metal band Acrylic (band)
Covered in 2001 by English rock band Smokie
Covered in 2007 by Northern Kings
Covered in 2008 by Trust Company
Covered in 2009 by David Cook & band during his Declaration Tour
Covered (and redone in Metal Music) in 2011 by Dead Season on the Album: The Negative NUMBers
In 2010 Jason Donovan recorded a cover version of "Died In Your Arms" for his 80s covers album "Soundtrack of the 80s".
Australian metal band Lord included a cover on their 2010 EP "Return of the Tyrant"
Melody is sampled in Mika's "Relax, Take It Easy"
Rihanna referenced the line in her song SOS : "Take me on, I could just die up in your arms tonight"
Covered by Canadian rock band Faber Drive as a b-side for their debut album Seven Second Surgery
The synthesizer in the background can be heard sped up in the Ya Boy single "Holla At Ya Boy" (2007).
Interpolated into/a source of inspiration for the Amerie song "I Just Died"
Interpolated in track "Died In Your Arms" by Smitty featuring T-Pain, produced by DJ Felli Fel
Interpolated in track "I Just Died in Your Arms" by Jay-Z (original lyrics from "Moment of Clarity")
Sampled in many posthumous Tupac remixes
Remixed by Crooked I in 2007 as part of the Hip Hop Weekly series
Remixed by Go Mental (Jon Kyriacou aka DJ Kaos) in 1996, 1997 & 1999 (for the eurodance compilation Dancemania Speed 2)
The Goth rock band Dommin has covered it during live shows, and it is a track on the special edition of their debut album Love Is Gone
Scottish Hip-Hop artist Werd (S.O.S) samples the song in his track "Died In Your Arms" on his mixtape Werd - Rap Re-Mixtape Vol.2
Melody sampled in DJ Bobo's "Where Is Your Love"
Melody sampled in Britney Spears's "Hold It Against Me"
Remixed by Lil Wayne feat. Lloyd Banks and Eminem
Covered by russian singer Данко ru:Фадеев, Александр Валерьевич - "Я умру без твоей любви"

Notes

^ Bronson, Fred (2001). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
^ Music video in MyVideo.de
^ [1]
^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0814&volume=46&issue=8&issue_dt=May%2030%201987&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=ehmfhakof4irevvh36gak1kh01. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Steffen Hung. "Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Cutting+Crew&titel=%28I+Just%29+Died+In+Your+Arms&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
^ www.musicline.de
^ Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (C)". Rock.co.za. http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(C).html. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
^ "SNL Transcripts: Joshua Jackson: 03/11/00: Wedding Singers". Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/99/99nsingers.phtml. Retrieved 2009-09-24.

References

"Billboard". Billboard Hot 100 airplay and sales charts. Retrieved June 11, 2006.

Preceded by "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)" by George Michael and Aretha Franklin	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 2, 1987- May 9, 1987 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "With or Without You" by U2
Preceded by "With or Without You" by U2	*Canadian RPM* Singles Chart number-one single** May 16, 1987 - May 30, 1987 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna