The Hell Song

Last updated
"The Hell Song"
Thehellsong.jpg
Single by Sum 41
from the album Does This Look Infected?
ReleasedFebruary 10, 2003 (2003-02-10)
Studio
Genre Pop punk [1]
Length3:18
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Greig Nori
Sum 41 singles chronology
"Still Waiting"
(2002)
"The Hell Song"
(2003)
"Over My Head (Better Off Dead)"
(2003)

"The Hell Song" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41. The song was released on February 10, 2003, as the second single of the band's album Does This Look Infected? . "The Hell Song" became a top-40 hit in Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. On May 29, 2015, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Contents

Background

Deryck Whibley, the lead vocalist of Sum 41, wrote "The Hell Song" after learning that one of his friends had contracted HIV. [2] He said, "That song just came out in, like, half an hour when I just found out," Whibley said. "I wasn't even meaning to write about it, but for some reason that just came out right away". [3]

Music video

The music video was of a concert with dolls and action figures, with Sum 41's faces on those "performing" in front of a Lite-Brite screen with the band's name on it. They were joined with other action figures such as those of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ozzy Osbourne with his family, Marilyn Manson, Korn, Metallica, Eddie the Head, Gene Simmons, Spice Girls, Angus Young, Jesus Christ, Alice Cooper, Destiny's Child, George W. Bush and Ludacris. The video ends when police dolls arrive to break up the concert, and the band avoids arrest by taking off in a helicopter (which is then comically hurled out of a window and falls to the ground, accompanied by laughter). The dolls' obscene finger gestures and nudity are comically censored, which parodies real life. The video was directed by Marc Klasfeld.

The music video was nominated for Best Breakthrough Video & Best Direction at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, losing both awards to Coldplay's "The Scientist".

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "The Hell Song"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI) [19] Gold50,000
United Kingdom (BPI) [20] Silver200,000
United States (RIAA) [21] Gold500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "The Hell Song"
RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref(s).
United KingdomFebruary 10, 2003
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
Mercury [22]
United StatesFebruary 17, 2003 Island [23] [24]
April 7, 2003 Contemporary hit radio [25]
AustraliaApril 14, 2003CD [26]

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References

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  2. "Sum 41 Sober Up On Does This Look Infected?". MTV. Archived from the original on November 19, 2002.
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  6. The Hell Song (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Sum 41. Mercury Records. 2003. 063 720-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. The Hell Song (European CD single liner notes). Sum 41. Island Def Jam Music Group. 2003. 063 721-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. The Hell Song (Australian CD single liner notes). Sum 41. Island Records. 2003. 063 722-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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