Tear Away Bodies Drowning Pool

Tear Away
Bodies Album: Sinner (2001)
by Drowning PoolShow more

Tear Away was originally going to be released as the follow-up to Drowning Pool's breakthrough single "Bodies," but the band's label decided it could be too divisive after 9/11 so "Sinner" was released instead. "This is the most united we've been [as a country] in a while as far as all our differences being put aside and being pretty much together to fight the evil horde across the sea," frontman Dave Williams told MTV News days after the September 11 attacks. "So putting out a song with a chorus that says 'I don't care about anybody else but me' just didn't seem like a good move."

It was eventually released as the band's third single in early 2002.

Though the song's message is clearly self-centered, Williams explained it's not entirely negative. "Everybody at one time or another in their life needs to say, 'Forget everybody else, I need to deal with me. I need to take care of myself,'" he said.

This song was the theme song to WrestleMania X8 in 2002. It was featured prominently in both advertisements and the event itself, and was also played there live.

"Bodies" is a mosh pit anthem. Whenever Drowning Pool played this live, the mosh pit went crazy. The lyrics are very simple, but the song is fun and full of energy. While it may not seem meaningful on the surface, the band has explained that it is about the mosh pit code of honor and the passion of the fans.

Guitarist C.J. Pierce came up with the riff, and lead singer Dave Williams added the line, "Let the bodies hit the floor," which became the basis for the song.

Dave Williams had "Sinner," the name of the album, tattooed on his arm. He had the tattoo before the album came out.

Jared Loughner is a mentally unstable mass murderer who shot dead six people and critically injured US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tuscon, Arizona in January 2011. The killer favored this song on his YouTube channel, leading some media commentators to speculate over whether the killer was influenced by the tune.

In a statement posted at Drowning Pool's website, the band responded: "We were devastated this weekend to learn of the tragic events that occurred in Arizona and that our music has been misinterpreted, again. 'Bodies' was written about the brotherhood of the mosh pit and the respect people have for each other in the pit. If you push others down, you have to pick them back up. It was never about violence. It's about a certain amount of respect and a code."

This got a lot of exposure when Drowning Pool played Ozzfest in 2001. They were a huge hit with the crowd, and quickly moved up from the third to the second stage, even getting the main stage for some shows.

The World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) named this the official theme song of Summerslam. It got a lot of play on the WWF shows.

Although it was popular at the time, most radio stations took this song off their playlists after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The chorus of "Let the bodies hit the floor" would not have been appropriate.

This was used in the 2002 Vin Diesel movie XXX and the 2001 Jet Li film The One.

Drowning Pool lead singer Dave Williams was found dead on August 14, 2002, when the band was touring with Ozzfest. It was determined the Williams, who was 30, had an undiagnosed heart condition.

When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, this was one of the songs they used to break the will of Iraqi soldiers. Heavy metal is not part of their culture, and this was exceptionally offensive and annoying to many of them, especially when played over and over by US forces.
82-year-old former aerospace engineer John Hetlinger auditioned with a performance of this song on the 2016 series of America's Got Talent. Hetlinger's rendition elicited huge cheers from the studio audience, shocked the judging panel and swiftly went viral.

CJ Pierce spoke to Loudwire about Hetlinger's performance shortly afterwards, saying, "I am so entertained by it. It's awesome to just see an 82-year-old man get out there and just belt out some metal - whether it was our song or any song, it was just killer to see him do that."

"Obviously he had a great time with the song and we have a great time with the song every night so it would be awesome to have him onstage with us."

"Bodies" is Drowning Pool's best known song, but its success was unexpected as it came along so naturally. "We were rocking out in the room, drinking a couple of beers and writing what you feel, guitarist C.J. Pierce reflected in Knotfest's Talk Toomey podcast. "And the song 'Bodies' just took on a life of its own, man."

While some artists get weird about their most famous song, claiming to hate it, Pierce is different. When the guitarist is at home, he often plays the tune. "I've got the mandolin over here and I'll do just like a mandolin version of 'Bodies,'" he said. "I'll do my own wacky versions of it 'cause it's just a fun song to mess with."