There are multiple artists with this name;

1) HIM (sometimes stylize… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists with this name;

1) HIM (sometimes stylized as H.I.M.) was a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up in 1993, before being reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström. After being rejoined by Mige, as well as new additions keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, released their debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 in 1997. In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, the band released the album Razorblade Romance, which reached the number one spot in Finland, Austria and Germany. Their first single, "Join Me in Death", also charted at number one in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum and gold respectively. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights and Love Metal in 2001 and 2003 respectively. Both cracked the top ten in several countries, and allowed the band to tour the United Kingdom and the United States for the first time.

In 2005, HIM released Dark Light, which became the group's most commercially successful album to date, charting in fifteen countries. With Dark Light, HIM also became the first Finnish group to receive a gold record in the US. In 2007, HIM released Venus Doom, the making of which was marred by problems in Valo's personal life. Despite this, the album gave the band their highest chart position in the US at number twelve. After 2010's Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, HIM went on hiatus as drummer Gas Lipstick took medical leave. Following several months of uncertainty, the band regrouped and eventually released the album Tears on Tape in 2013. In 2015, Gas Lipstick announced his departure from the band to pursue other musical projects, and was subsequently replaced by Jukka "Kosmo" Kröger. On 5 March 2017, HIM announced that the band would be disbanding following a farewell tour in 2017. The band played their final show on New Year's Eve 2017 as a part of their annual Helldone Festival.

HIM is one of the most commercially successful Finnish bands of all time, with sales of over ten million records. The band have released eight studio albums, five compilations, three video releases, and two box sets, along with one live and one remix album. HIM has also received numerous accolades, including eight Emma Awards.

Critics have referred to the music of HIM as gothic rock, gothic metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, and dark rock. The band themselves have referred to their music as "love metal", the title of their fourth studio album. According to Ville Valo, the term "love metal" was coined as a response to people having difficulties categorizing their music.

A central of part of HIM's image has been the heartagram. The heartagram is the trademarked symbol of the band, which was created by vocalist Ville Valo on his twentieth birthday in 1996. A combination of a heart and a pentagram, the heartagram is meant to represent the juxtaposition of "the soft and the hard, the male and the female, the yin and the yang" according to Valo. Musically the heart is also meant to represent the softer side of the band, while the pentagram symbolizes their heavier influences. This juxtaposition was also prevalent in the band's album titles. On their first album, HIM used a heart with "666" inside it as their logo, which Valo later felt was "a bit boring". The heartagram was first predominantly used on the cover of HIM's 2003 album Love Metal, and has since appeared on numerous releases from the band. Valo has later stated that the heartagram "is probably the best thing I've ever come-up with", and that it's "worth a lot more than money" and is "bigger than our band". The heartagram has also made several appearances on TV, including Charmed, LA Ink, Viva La Bam, and Criminal Minds.

2) HiM is a dub influenced post-rock group formed in 1995 by Doug Scharin, drummer for the bands Codeine, Rex and June of 44. Their first album, Egg, was their most dub-based effort. Each successive album has gone more in a quasi-world music direction. After some recording for Crooklyn Dub Consortium and Wordsound, "Interpretive Belief System", HiM settled on a lineup of Scharin with Bundy K. Brown, Rob Mazurek and Jeff Parker, members or occasional members of Tortoise and Isotope 217. Their first album was the underground hit Sworn Eyes, produced by Doug Scharin. A few personnel changes followed, and the revamped lineup including members of June of 44. Golden released Our Point of Departure in 1999, which signified a very clear shift toward a more jazz-like sound, followed by a major American and European tour. In 2003, HiM released Many In High Places Are Not Well on Fat Cat Records, which was received as their most successful and fully realized release. Peoples was released in mid-2006, featuring a cleaner sound with more vocals than any of HiM's previous releases. Included in this line-up are Martin Perna and Jordan McLean from Antibalas, Griffin Rodriguez from Need New Body/Icy Demons, Adam Pierce (Mice Parade).

The latest HiM records, "1110" and ん,released in 2008 and 2009 on Afterhours in Tokyo, are collaborations between Doug Scharin, Josh Larue and the Tokyo-based group, Ultra Living.

3) The group was composed of the following main members:

* Shizuka Nakajima （vocals）
* Shungo Makihashi (vocals)
* Non (dancer)
* Yocco (dancer)

4) H.I.M. (Her in Mind) an r&b singer best known for his reply album to H.E.R.'s album in 2017.

Pretending
HIM Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Love is a flame that can't be tamed,
And though we are its willing pray, my darling,
We are not the ones to blame

Trust is a word all lovers know,
The glorious art of staining souls, my darling,
We are not the ones to blame

The more we have, the more we want,
And the more it hurts our heart, my baby,
It always ends up in tears

So keep on Pretending
Our heaven's worth the waiting
Keep on Pretending
It's all right
So keep on Pretending
It will be the end of our craving
Keep on Pretending
It's all right

When doubts arise the game begins
The one we will never win, my baby,
It always ends up in tears

So keep on Pretending
Our heaven's worth the waiting
Keep on Pretending
It's all right
So keep on Pretending
It will be the end of our craving
Keep on Pretending
It's all right (c'mon) c'mon

So keep on Pretending
Our heaven's worth the waiting
Keep on Pretending
It's all right
So keep on Pretending
It will be the end of our craving
Keep on Pretending
It's all right

Love is a flame that can't be tamed,

And though we are its willing pray, my darling,
We are not the ones to blame

Overall Meaning

The song "Pretending" by HIM explores the themes of love and trust in relationships, as well as the consequences of the desire for more. The opening stanza of the song speaks of love as a flame that cannot be tamed, but admits that despite willingly becoming prey to love, neither partner is to blame for any hurt or pain that may arise. The second stanza addresses trust, referring to it as a glorious art of staining souls, and again emphasizing that neither partner is at fault for any loss of trust.

The chorus of the song carries the message that no matter how much love one has, the desire for more only leads to heartbreak and tears. This is reflected in the lines " The more we have, the more we want, And the more it hurts our heart," which suggest that the quest for more is a never-ending cycle that only ends in sadness.

The title "Pretending" is introduced in the second verse, as the song speaks of doubts that arise in relationships and how pretending becomes a means of survival. The chorus repeats the message that pretending is necessary, but it will ultimately lead to the end of the craving, hinting at an inevitable end to the relationship. The final stanza brings the song back to where it began, reminding the listener that love is powerful and cannot be tamed, but also absolving both partners of any blame.

Line by Line Meaning

Love is a flame that can't be tamed,
Love is an intense and uncontrollable feeling.

And though we are its willing pray, my darling,
Although we willingly surrender ourselves to love's power.

We are not the ones to blame
We are not responsible for the consequences of love.

Trust is a word all lovers know,
Trust is a fundamental aspect of any romantic relationship.

The glorious art of staining souls, my darling,
Trust can leave a lasting impact on our souls, whether good or bad.

We are not the ones to blame
We should not be blamed for any trust issues that may arise.

The more we have, the more we want,
The more we obtain, the greater our desire for more becomes.

And the more it hurts our heart, my baby,
The more we desire, the more pain it can cause us.

It always ends up in tears
Desire often leads to heartache and disappointment.

When doubts arise the game begins
When we begin to question our relationship, it can lead to a difficult 'game' of uncertainty and fear.

The one we will never win, my baby,
This 'game' is one that we may never be able to triumph over.

It always ends up in tears
This 'game' often ends in heartbreak and sadness.

So keep on Pretending, Our heaven's worth the waiting
Despite the challenges of love and relationships, we should keep pretending that our 'heavenly' future is worth the wait.

It will be the end of our craving
If we keep pretending, we will eventually rid ourselves of our longing and desires.

It's all right (c'mon) c'mon
It's okay to keep pretending, to keep believing in love and a better future.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ville Hermanni Valo

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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