Wisdom in the words: Evanescence – 'Bring me to life'

Major Mal Davies explores how the song lyrics of 'Bring Me to Life’ by Evanescence have a note of truth about them.

In 1995, having met a year earlier at a Christian youth camp, Ben Moody and Amy Lee formed the band Evanescence. Ben was a guitarist and singer, while Amy was a classically trained pianist. After releasing some independent albums, the Little Rock outfit signed a major contract in 2003 and then released the album Fallen.

It sold 17 million copies, and Evanescence had arrived. It was a Top 10 album worldwide, largely as a result of the success of the first single from it, ‘Bring Me to Life’.

The song reached No 1 in the UK and US and won a Grammy. With deeply introspective lyrics, the song expresses the thoughts of someone who feels as though they’re dying inside:

‘I’ve become so numb,/ Without a soul,/ My spirit’s sleeping.’ Yet they long to be reinvigorated: ‘Wake me up inside/… Save me from the nothing I’ve become.’

The plea continues: ‘There must be something more,/ Bring me to life.’

It’s a song that’s quite ambivalent in its outlook: it pessimistically says that life is soul-sapping and empty and hollow, but then optimistically states that salvation is possible. There is hope!

This has been the experience of billions of people over the past two millennia. Life has seemed somehow empty or meaningless. But at the call to be saved, a saviour arrives. People have found that a relationship with Jesus offers the wake-up call that they crave. They are brought ‘to life’ and given fresh hope in a way that had not previously seemed possible.

One Bible writer said: ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Romans 10:13 New International Version). Note that little word ‘will’ – it’s a promise.

No matter what our background or experience, we may recognise this urge to be saved. There is more to life, and Jesus can bring it to us. He can wake us up to the reality of a completely new life.