Join Me (in Death)

Join Me (in Death)
publication	November 2, 1999
length	3:39
Genre (s)	Dark rock
Author (s)	Ville Valo
Producer (s)	John Fryer
album	Razorblade Romance

Join Me (In Death) ( English for " Join me in death) ( ") is a song by the Finnish rock band HIM . The song is the first single from their second studio album Razorblade Romance and was released on November 2, 1999. He is also included on the soundtrack for The 13th Floor . With Join Me (in Death) the band achieved their commercial breakthrough across Europe.

content

The song is about a life-weary pair of lovers who are still young but no longer see any meaning in life and who regard the world as cruel. In the refrain the question is asked whether one partner wants to follow the other into death tonight. According to singer Ville Valo , the song is inspired by William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet and is not a glorification of suicide .

“This world is a cruel place
And we're here only to lose
So before life tears us apart
Let death bless me with you
Would you die tonight for love?
Baby, join me in death ”

- Excerpt from Join Me (in Death)

production

The song was produced by the English music producer John Fryer . The lyrics and music were written by HIM singer Ville Valo .

Music videos

To Join Me (In Death) two were music videos rotated.

The first video was made in 1999 in Berlin, directed by Robert Wilde, and was used in the credits of the film The 13th Floor . The band plays in a room that is illuminated by green laser light. The focus is on Ville Valo , who sings with a bare torso and wears glitter make-up in the David Bowie style. In addition to the band, the video also shows various scenes from the film.

In 2000, a second video for the song directed by John Hillcoat was shot in London . In the video, the band plays in front of an artificial styrofoam backdrop that is supposed to represent the inside of an ice castle. Here Ville Valo is made up in bright white and walks around between blocks of ice next to a woman who is supposed to represent the ice queen. You come to a table on which there is a vessel with poison, which is eventually knocked over by the ice queen.

single

Cover design

The single cover of the first version is kept completely in pink and shows the HIM lettering, the title Join Me as well as a heart and two razor blades.

The cover of the second version is on the poster for the film The 13th Floor - Are you what you think? ajar and shows a person in a science fiction world, with mountains in the background. In the upper part of the picture you can see Ville Valo's face. The lettering HIM in white and Join Me in brown are in the foreground.

Track list

Version 1

1. Join Me - 3:39
2. Join Me (13th Floor Mix) - 3:39
3. It's All Tears ( Unplugged Live) - 3:48
4. Rebel Yell (Live) - 5:12

Version 2

1. Join Me - 3:39
2. It's All Tears (Unplugged Live) - 3:48
3. Rebel Yell (Live) - 5:12

Chart successes

Join Me (in Death) entered the German charts at number 45 on November 15, 1999 and reached the top of the chart on January 24, 2000, where it stayed for four weeks. In total, the song stayed in the top 100 for 22 weeks, eight of which were in the top 10. In the German annual charts in 2000, the single took 19th place. The song was particularly successful in HIM's country of origin, Finland, where it also topped the charts Has stayed in the charts for 37 weeks and is still at number 6 of all singles released since 1995 (as of September 2019).

Chart placements Charts Top ranking Weeks Chart placements  Germany (GfK) 1 (22 weeks) 22nd  Austria (Ö3) 2 (13 weeks) 13  Switzerland (IFPI) 8th (26 weeks) 26th  Finland (IFPI) 1 (37 weeks) 37

Annual charts Charts (2000) placement Annual charts (2000)  Germany (GfK) 19th  Austria (Ö3) 40  Switzerland (IFPI) 79

Sales figures and awards

Join Me (in Death) was awarded a gold record in 2000 for more than 250,000 sales in Germany . In Finland, it received a platinum record in 1999 for over 30,000 sales.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Germany (BVMI)	gold	250,000
Finland (IFPI)	platinum	30,628
Austria (IFPI)	gold	25,000
All in all	2 × gold 1 × platinum	305,628

Main article: HIM / Discography # Awards for music sales

Web links

• Lyrics with interpretations on genius.com
• German translation of the lyrics on songtexte.com
• Music video version 1 on YouTube
• Music video - version 2 on YouTube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ HIM - Join Me (in Death) - lyrics. genius.com, accessed September 8, 2019 . 
2. ↑ HIM - Interview by Erin Broadley ( Memento from May 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) modernfix.com, accessed on September 8, 2019 (English).
3. ↑ HIM - Join Me in Death (Video - Version 1). youtube.com, accessed September 8, 2019 . 
4. ↑ HIM - Join Me in Death (Video - Version 2). youtube.com, accessed September 8, 2019 . 
5. ↑ HIM - Join Me - Singlecover 1. discogs.com, accessed September 8, 2019 . 
6. ↑ HIM - Join Me - Singlecover 2. amazon.com, accessed on September 8, 2019 . 
7. ↑ HIM - Join Me. Officialcharts.de, accessed on September 8, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Top 100 annual single charts 2000. officialcharts.de, accessed on September 8, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Top 100 of all Singles in the charts since 1995. finnishcharts.com, accessed September 8, 2019 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK FI
11. ↑ ^{a b c} 2000 annual charts: DE AT CH
12. ↑ Gold / platinum database. musikindustrie.de, accessed on September 8, 2019 . 
13. ↑ HIM. ifpi.fi, accessed on September 8, 2019 .