Hello

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General information

Written by: A. Lee, B. Moody and D. Hodges

Hello is the ninth track from Evanescence's debut album, Fallen. It is one of the most personal songs Amy wrote on the album. She wrote it about her sister who passed away at the age of three from an unidentified illness. This sister was later the inspiration for her song "Like You" on The Open Door. This is one of the songs on Fallen that Amy is proud of. "Lyrically, I think that's my favourite thing on Fallen because it relates specifically to one personal instance that is very, very special to me and very close to me, so I think Hello is probably the one song of ours that can actually make me cry."

She later explained the impact her sister's death had on her:

“When that happened, my whole perception of life changed. It sounds stupid, but that was when I became an artist. The music is my attempt to heal myself. Things like that can destroy you, or you can get through it.” Lee’s gray-blue eyes fill with tears. Her voice wobbles. […] She says she won’t reveal her sister’s name, because it would be too weird to see it in print. It would upset her mother, she says, and – you never know – fans might try to find her grave. “My sister’s death taught me how short life can be, and it has driven me to achieve things. I have a list of 50 things I want to achieve. Not necessarily in entertainment, just personal goals. Life's fragility drives me on.”

"Hello" is the only song on Fallen that Amy has never performed live to date, despite brief consideration back in 2003. A musical theme from the song was used in the beginning of a few live shows in 2003 as the intro to "Going Under". There is also a video of Amy singing part of it in her parents' house in 2004, which is the only recorded live version of the song.

A part of the song's instrumental was played by Amy in a different key on her piano solo The In-Between from the band's orchestral album, Synthesis.

Amy discussed the song and her sister's death in a Kerrang! cover story about the 20th anniversary of Fallen:

“I found it healing for me to talk about losing my sister. It’s just about a day from that time, which was very impactful on my life. I lost my sister when I was six, and she was three. It changed my perspective forever. The challenge when you lose someone is not to focus on the sad and the scary things, but remember the good things. Even if it hurt, I would rather have known her than to not have known her and not have felt the pain. It’s interesting how things resurface at different times in your life. That was obviously the biggest thing in my life when it happened, but then it had this resurfacing when I was a teenager, because you’re growing up and learning about who you are, and how your heart and brain work. Emotions are huge, hormones are big. I just remember reliving it in a really big way at that time. I was really proud of that song. After it came out, I could see that it spoke to people who had been through great loss. It was so rewarding, because it was painful to do. I don’t think we’ve played it live. It’s not that I couldn’t, I’ve sung songs that go there. I guess in the beginning, it would have been too hard – I definitely felt overexposed and scared as a new artist. By the time I was ready to share like that, we were on to new music. But I’m sure I’ll play that live some day.”

Versions

Studio versions:

Hello [Fallen version]

• Recording date: August - November 2002
• Status: Released
• Released on: Fallen (track #9)
• Length: 3:40

Hello [Demo]

• Recording date: 2001-2002
• Status: Unreleased
• Length: 3:33

Live versions:

Hello [Cello intro]

• Performing period: Most of the 2003 live sets
• Status: Unreleased
• Example: Rock am Ring festival (June 7, 2003)

Download

• Hello (Demo)

Lyrics

Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello

If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream

Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken
Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday

Guitar tabs & sheet music

• Piano sheet music - arranged by Nolan