"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 the United States where it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Bastille's most successful single to date, until "Happier" reached number two on both the UK and US charts in October 2018 and February 2019 respectively.
The song was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards. A mashup of the song with Rudimental and Ella Eyre's "Waiting All Night" was performed live by Rudimental, Eyre and Bastille at the aforementioned ceremony, which reached number 21 in the UK.
It was also performed at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where it was nominated for Alternative Rock Song of the Year.
According to 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."
The official music video was filmed in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California. It was directed by Jesse John Jenkins and produced by Tova Dann. The video was first released onto YouTube on 20 January 2013 at a total length of three minutes and fifty-two seconds. It currently has 728 million views, the highest out of all the band's songs.
The video follows Bastille frontman Dan Smith, as he wanders about an empty-looking Los Angeles, before realizing the few people around all have unnatural vacant black eyes. He steals a car and drives into the desert to escape them, but the car breaks down and he soon realizes he's been infected as well. He climbs a mountain and looks out at the view, before turning around to reveal his own eyes have turned black as well. The story is an allegory for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii.
A popular dance remix of the track by Audien was nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classic at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. It lost to Tiƫsto's remix of John Legend's "All of Me".
The song reached number one in Scotland and Ireland, and peaked at number two in Italy and the UK. Previously, the single also held the record (now belonging to Clean Bandit's "Rather Be") for the longest time at number one on the Official Streaming Chart, remaining at the peak for seven weeks, and was the second most streamed track of 2013 in the UK. "Pompeii" spent the anniversary of its debut at number 30, having re-entered the top 40 the previous week following a live performance (a mash-up with Rudimental's "Waiting All Night") at the 2014 BRIT Awards. It spent a record 92 consecutive weeks in the top 100 (since matched by "Happy" by Pharrell Williams). With over 26 million streams by June 2014, "Pompeii" became the most streamed song of all time in the UK at that time and has sold 895,000 copies there. The B-side track "Poet" has also managed to chart in the UK at #121.
The song reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in October 2013 and began climbing the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It peaked at number 5 in the Hot 100 in March 2014 and reached a million in sales in the US. By March 2014, the song had reached top 5 in the Hot 100 in its 29th week, and has sold over two million digital copies. By the end of its US run, Pompeii had managed to chart for a total of 53 weeks in the top 100 as well as sell 3 million digital sales mark by June 2014. As of December 2014, the song has sold 3.4 million copies in the US.
Pompeii
Bastille Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
I was left to my own devices
Many days fell away with nothing to show
And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Grey clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
We were caught up and lost in all of our vices
In your pose as the dust settles around us
And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Grey clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
Eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Oh, where do we begin?
The rubble or our sins?
Oh-oh, where do we begin?
The rubble or our sins?
And the walls kept tumbling down (oh, where do we begin?)
In the city that we love (the rubble or our sins?)
Grey clouds roll over the hills (oh, where do we begin?)
Bringing darkness from above (the rubble or our sins?)
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
Oh, how am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
If you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
The song "Pompeii" by Bastille describes a post-apocalyptic world where the singer is reflecting on the events that led to the destruction of their city. The first verse describes how the singer was left alone with nothing to show for the passing days. The chorus talks about how the walls of their city kept falling down due to a continuous disaster, which is metaphorically represented by the "grey clouds" that roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above. However, in the chorus, the singer poses a question, asking whether it's possible to close their eyes and imagine that nothing has changed, that they've been there before. The second verse talks about how the singer and their people were caught up in their vices, and as the dust settled around them, they were lost. The chorus then repeats, underscoring the sense of despair and hopelessness felt by the singer. The final verse once again poses the question of where they should begin, whether they should focus on the rubble or their sins.
Overall, the song speaks to the feeling of being overwhelmed by a disaster, and the futility of trying to move forward in its aftermath. The repeated refrain, "How am I gonna be an optimist about this?" highlights the singer's sense of hopelessness and desperation, even as they acknowledge that the situation is beyond their control.
Line by Line Meaning
Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh
Repetitive vocalization of the chorus melody
I was left to my own devices
I was alone and had to rely on myself
Many days fell away with nothing to show
Time passed by without any visible accomplishment
And the walls kept tumbling down
The barriers and structures around me kept collapsing
In the city that we love
The place we called home
Grey clouds roll over the hills
A dark cloud cover looms over the horizon
Bringing darkness from above
Shrouding everything in darkness and uncertainty
But if you close your eyes
If you look within yourself
Does it almost feel like
Is there a sense of familiarity or comfort?
Nothing changed at all?
Have things remained the same?
And if you close your eyes
If you search your soul
Does it almost feel like
Does it seem like
You've been here before?
You've experienced this before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How can I be positive in this situation?
We were caught up and lost in all of our vices
We were consumed by our own bad habits and addictions
In your pose as the dust settles around us
You stand still like a statue while everything falls apart around us
Oh, where do we begin?
What's the starting point to pick up the pieces?
The rubble or our sins?
Should we focus on the physical remains or our wrongdoing?
If you close your eyes
If you introspect
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
Is there a sense of stagnation?
Eh-oh, eh-oh
Repetitive vocalization of the chorus melody
Lyrics Ā© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Daniel Campbell Smith
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeannie Smith
I like it.
@JJ-qe1fz
This song reminds me of the Mark Twain quote, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes."
And when our personal history keeps rhyming in the present tense, we need to pay attention to what got us into this similar situation.
"Where do we begin? The rubble or our sin?"
Choose to begin with the factor that keeps causing the rhymes, even if it isn't a sin. If you don't find the root cause and fix it, you are just complaining about the rubble.
Don't build great cities near volcanos, or suffer the same fate as Pompeii. (Figuratively speaking).
@AustPro
Instructions unclear: couldnāt see half the video bc my eyes were closed
@FatLoser445
Funny
@Alphagamerz24
lol
@whydidyoueatmycake3019
āšā
@abdulmohid3519
He didn't force ya
@wiktor_nosa
u nub then
@scrutable8531
I don't want to grow up. I don't want this decade to end.
@Koldxlone
Same
@KF3000-w7x
@@kimjong-un9753 š§