if sugar falls, then we'll see!

Bastille - Pompeii 2013

"Pompeii" is a song by British indie pop band Bastille. It is the fourth single from their debut studio album Bad Blood and was released on 11 January 2013. The song's title and lyrics refer to the Roman town of the same name that was destroyed and buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. "Pompeii" became the band's breakthrough hit, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and became the eleventh best-selling song that year and, until June 2014, was the country's most streamed single of all time. It was also successful worldwide, reaching the top ten in fifteen countries, including number one in Scotland and Ireland, number two in Italy, and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards.

According to lead singer Dan Smith, the song is written as a conversation between two victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, stating in an interview, "I was reading a book that had some picture of the people who got caught up in the volcanic eruption. And it's just such a kind of dark powerful image, and it got me thinking about how boring it must have been emotionally after the event. To be sort of stuck in that same position for hundreds and hundreds of years. So, the song is sort of an imaginary conversation between these two people who are stuck next to each other in their sort of tragic death pose."

Belgian singer Heleen Uytterhoeven recorded a cover version in Latin. Bustle magazine noted that the Youtube video contained commenters arguing in Latin over the accuracy of her translation. The "eheu" chanted throughout the song is a Latin interjection commonly used by ancient Roman authors to express sorrow, grief, pain, or fear. It translates to "alas" or "oh no", or in the words of the Youtube commenters, "oh shit".

The lyrics are referenced in an in-game achievement for the video game Civilization VI, as part of the Gathering Storm DLC. The achievement requires the player to lose a city's population from Vesuvius' eruption while playing as the Romans. In August 2020, the song's chorus became an Internet meme involving a before and after shot of countries, states or provinces viewed on a map, usually disappearing or changing after the line "But if you close your eyes" is sung, as well as a major meme in the NASCAR and Formula One community over similar events that look almost exactly the same, such as finishes or crashes. The cast of Glee performs "Pompeii" as the closing number of the season 5 finale.

"Pompeii" received a total of 84,7% yes votes!

By Christian Wiman March 25, 2019