Pull Me Under
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"Pull Me Under" is the debut single by Dream Theater from their 1992 album Images and Words. It is also featured on the Live at the Marquee CD, Once in a LIVEtime CD, Live at Budokan CD and DVD, the Images and Words: Live in Tokyo VHS and DVD, and the Live at Luna Park DVD. It received positive critical reception and extensive MTV rotation.[1] Widely considered to be Dream Theater's signature song, Rolling Stone ranked it number No. 91 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs.[2]
Overview
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The song's abrupt ending was modified in their Greatest Hits compilation. When asked about the abrupt ending while at a drum clinic in Atlanta in 1999, Mike Portnoy explained "We had all this tension, and it just kept building and building, and we had no idea where to take it, you know? So we decided to just pull the plug on it, like The Beatles did with 'She's So Heavy'."Script error: No such module "Unsubst".[3]
The song was released as a promotional single and as a music video. Based on a shortened version of the song at 4:48 in length, the video alternates between clips of the band performing and an obscure storyline. The band members were reportedly unhappy with the storyline, saying that it doesn't have anything to do with the song's subject matter.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Because it was the only Dream Theater single to achieve such success, "Pull Me Under" is the "hit" referred to in the Dream Theater compilation Dream Theater's Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs).
Lyrics
Lyricist Kevin Moore refers to Shakespeare's Hamlet, as told from Prince Hamlet's point of view.[4] The lyrics allude heavily to the play, echoing Hamlet's desire to give in to his urge to gain revenge for his father at the cost of his own sanity. Over the final moments of the song, James LaBrie can be heard singing the song's only direct quote from the play: "O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt". Therein, Prince Hamlet is pleading for escape from his mortal trappings.
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O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
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Track listing
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Personnel
- James LaBrie – lead and background vocals
- Kevin Moore – keyboards
- John Myung – bass
- John Petrucci – guitars
- Mike Portnoy – drums, percussion
Credits
- David Prater – production
Charts
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[6][7] | 10 |
Releases
- CD single, promo – Atco Records PRCD 4624-2, US 1992
- Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM single, promo – Rock Ahead SAM 1030, UK 1992
- CD single, promo – Atco Records PRCD 4724-2, US 1992
- CD single, promo – Atco Records PRCD 4928, US 1992
References
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- ↑ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at AllMusic. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
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