anonymous December 17th, 2007 03:19PM  
I know this song is about when Amy Lee's younger sister died.
I think when she says 'playground school bell rings, rain clouds come to play' she is saying that everything carries on as normal even though this tragedy has happened.
When she says 'if I smile and don't believe, soon I know I'll wake from this dream' she is saying that she doesn't believe this is happening. Soon she'll wake up and realise that it is just a bad dream.
When she says 'suddenly I know I'm not sleeping' That's when she realises that its not a dream, that she's really gone.
And when she says 'all that's left of yesterday' she is saying that her memory of her sister is all she has left.

anonymous March 5th, 2008 04:49PM  
Amy lee said... It was written about her sister who died of an unidentified illness at age three

anonymous March 7th, 2008 12:41AM  
Ok so I haven't read all of the reviews because they all say the same thing or something completely crazy. I got halfway through p.2 and my IQ fell a little. I was starting to lose faith in the human mind so I just thought I would add this... To point out a few things that were quite obvious to me.

The song is specifically about Amy's sister. On a broader spectrum it's about any child who has lost someone close. Parent/Best Friend/Sibling close. She tunes the world out, shuts herself in her head. But outwardly smiles and pretends its all fine. "Don't try to fix me I'm not broken." another experience of a child who loses someone: psychiatrists and teachers and parents and everyone are constantly in your face and everyone is there telling you that its ok and you should talk about it and stuff. She doesn't want to talk about it, she just can't imagine living in a world without her (sister). I think that she wasn't a blabbering mess and that she just was content with her denial, the adults wanted her to cry. People seem think crying helps. Denial feels better. Thats the waking up from this dream part. Denial. I have a few theories about the playground. Easiest-> she found out about the sister on the playground and now it just reminds her of it every time she's on the playground. The other kids go about their lives and their happiness adds to her pain. Shes not schizophrenic, that's when you possess different personalities (maybe they possess you...?) or you openly interact with them. As a coping mechanism she finds her own friend within herself. Its human nature to seek companionship and when her (sister) leaves her she is left without that company.

For me that's as short and sweet as they come.. Its a really sad but true song and I think the only one who could explain it accurately and entirely is Amy Lee at the time she wrote it. But without that, less than intelligent people are left to butcher it and I could be one of them. I don't know. Everyone will hear something different.

PS- I read somewhere- a not a reliable source by any means- that it was an 'unidentified illness' and fever was implied. Not reliable and I don't think its important, since that's too personal.

abbas March 9th, 2008 10:30AM  
Amy Lee said it was about her sister who drowned when she was young. That's why she vowed she'll never play it live.

anonymous May 19th, 2008 08:28PM  
You guys are annoying me. It's about Amy Lee's little sister dying at age 3 because of an unknown illness. Let me explain:

"playground school bell rings again"

She found out after recess

"rainclouds come to play again"

Rain clouds mean sadness

"has no one told you she's not breathing"

She finds out her sister is dead (hence the not breathing NOT BLINDNESS)

"hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to"

Her conscience is keeping her company

"if I smile and don't belivie soon I know ill wake from this dream"

This isn't happening I HAVE to be dreaming

"don't try to fix me I'm not brocken"

im not so sure about this one but I think that everyone was all on her and it got annoying

"hello I'm the lie living for you so you can't hide don't cry"

Not to sure of this one ether but I think it has to do with her telling her self over & over again that THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!

"suddenly I know I'm not sleeping"

She realizes she can't be in denial any longer. This is the real deal. This is the truth

"hello while I'm still here all that's left of yesterday"

She's still alive and she can't forget her sister. She has to keep her memory alive

That's all. OH by the way her sister's name was Bonnie and when she died Amy Lee was age 6.

emo_scremo94 August 1st, 2008 06:26PM  
No offense but are you her no so don't be telling people they're wrong when you're not the band. It's a matter of opinion. That doesn't mean they're wrong or not, it's their opinion. They can say what ever they want you can not say that they're wrong. Only the band knows the real reason.

anonymous November 2nd, 2008 08:22AM  
Many song lyrics are hard to interpret- they are ambiguous. After all, an interpretation is a personal view and everyone's view is different, no matter how similar they may seem. No interpretation is wrong or right. In fact, the interpretation of anything is based on view or opinion; a meaning is based on fact. This is my view of "Hello". This is my interpretation.

This song could very well be about the passing of Amy Lee's dear sister. However, "Hello" might not actually about the passing of Amy Lee's sister, but something harder to express, such as her emotions and viewpoint.

Especially as she wrote this song on her own, it is probably more about her thoughts of her emotions. "Hello" also appears to go through the five stages of grief.

Denial and Anger-

"Playground school bell rings again,
Rain clouds come to play again,
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to,
Hello..."


Bargaining and Depression-

"If I smile and don't believe,
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream,
Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken,
Hello, I'm the lie, living for you so you can hide,
Donīt cry..."


Acceptance-

"Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping,
Hello, I'm still here,
All that's left of yesterday..."


This song is beautiful- Amy Lee's vocals, the lyrics and the piano. I can tell that Amy Lee not only sings with her soul but plays and writes music with her soul, too. "Hello" could very well be my favourite Evanescence song.
Lastly, this song is very inspriring- I get the message of 'stand up and be strong; don't let grief pull you down'. I find that this message is very true- whenever I play, sing or write music, my mood, whatever it previously was, is always brightened. Maybe Amy lee did the same thing to help her accept that her sister wouldn't be with her physically anymore. Amy Lee is Christian, as am I, so she could also mean, in "Hello", that although her sister isn't physcially with her, she is spiritually there, watching.
Thank you. Rest in Peace, Bonnie Lee.

Anonymous- Year 8 student

Kitty.Kat.14 December 6th, 2008 01:30PM  
My interpretation when I heard it was about something very... devastating happened, and about the person trying to deal with it, and so they kind of just talk to themselves in their head. But they can still see the images. My favorite line from it is, "Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping. Hello, I-I'm still here. All that's left of yesterday."

anonymous January 6th, 2009 05:11PM  
I think it's about being dead and in some sort of afterlife but not realising it and thinking other people around you are dead and you're alive.

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping / I'm still here

anonymous October 20th, 2009 02:09PM  
"Playground school bell rings... again...
Rain clouds come to play... again..."

She's a child, of school age. Everything seems normal so she is trying to pretend that it is.
she's sad/depressed. She doesn't understand what's different or why. She doesn't fully understand death. (I went through this with my little brother and sister when our grandmother died.)

"Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello... I'm your mind, giving you someone to talk to... Hello."

She learns of a death. (that of her sister) She doesn't understand why everyone keeps saying that the person (her sister) isn't breathing, that she's dead.
She doesn't think that anyone else would understand, so she keeps everything to herself, talking it out in her head.

"If I smile and don't believe,
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream."

She refuses to admit that this happened and so she's just smiling her way through the oddity. She pretends that the person (her sister) is just away for a while, not gone forever.
She's telling herself she's having a nightmare and that everything will be better, come morning. We've all done that on a really bad day. She keeps telling herself to just wait it out...

"Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken.
Hello.. I'm the lie, living for you so you can hide, don't cry..."

Everyone is worried about her since she never let herself cry. She's telling everyone that there is nothing wrong with her and possibly wondering if there is something wrong with everyone else.
It seems that she's singing this to her sister, as well as herself. To herself, she's saying that everything will be ok and that there is no reason to cry, that she can just hide from her pain. To her sister, she's living a lie so that she can be with her a little longer. So that she doesn't have to be dead and that she's simply hiding, Amy is hoping to just find her sister hiding somewhere, rather than have her be dead.

"Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping."

That is the point that she allows herself to Know that the person (her sister) really is dead. It could have been moments later, or years later. She finally pulled herself out of her "hiding place" and probably cried for the person (her sister) for the first time. this line is one of my favorite, just because of the way she sings it and because I said something similar the night after I found out my grandmother died.

"Hello... I'm still here...
All that's left of yesterday."

She keeps all of her feelings to herself still, talking only to herself about them because she still doesn't think that anyone will understand. That's all that she kept of her denial period. After finally allowing herself to mourn, she still only talked to herself about it.

This is how I take the song, based on my experiences. I say "the person" because depending on who's listening, it could be someone different. For me, that person is my grandmother. Thanks for your time and thanks for reading!

anonymous October 26th, 2009 12:08PM  
This song is bout her depression for her sister's death growing up. She still misses her.

rakeeney November 19th, 2009 04:40PM  
Fine art is always open to interpretation. That is what makes this song so amazing! You're talking about it aren't you??

anonymous December 22nd, 2009 06:35PM  
"playground school bell rings again
rain clouds come to play again "

These first lines are implying that everything normal in day to day life still seems to be happening despite the death of her young sister.

"has no one told you she's not breathing?
hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
hello"

I think that's her conscience telling her, her sisters dead and its the only one who seems to be actually speaking to her through all the grief.

"if I smile and don't believe
soon I know I'll wake from this dream"

Means she thinks that if she pretends all is ok maybe somehow she'll wake up and realise it was just a dream.

" don't try to fix me I'm not broken
hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
don't cry "

Is where they see she's smiling and don't think she's coping or understands so they're trying to "fix" her but really she knows that she's just pretending and this nightmare is real. And I think she is pretending to be ok the way she thinks her parents want to, so that they can hide from the reality because she wants them to stop crying.

" suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
hello I'm still here
all that's left of yesterday "

This is when she realises just how real this all is and that her smiles are not working. Then it's like she's telling her parents that she's still here, a memory of her sister.

This is my thoughts on the song though originally I thought it was about being in a coma and the only one who seems to talk to her is her mind, but now I know what the song is about and ... well yeah that's it, I guess I'm just rambling so why are you still reading this? Jokes. But I hope you like my interpretation on the song. Bye.

lemons December 31st, 2009 05:20AM  
Evanescence Hello is a song written about the emotions she feels about that unspeakable day her little sister died at 3 and Amy was six... Since I have lost 5 people in my life in the past 4 years and a couple before that I know these emotions quite too well...
HELLO
Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again

---in this she is seeing, hearing all the same sights and sounds she did before her sisters' death, but now they all seem to not matter, as all of these things would only remind her of her sister and how much she misses her when she just wants it all to stop.---

Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello

--it's almost as if her inner self that is dying is telling her outter self, who tries to keep it together... didn't you hear she's gone...as she is slipping into the darkness...--

If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream

---it's like she's saying to herself... If I pretend it is all a lie I can get through this maybe I will wake up in bed, maybe it's a nightmare, god let it be...---

Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken

---here I believe she's saying, to anyone/everyone out there, family, friends, or anyone... I'm fine, I don't need you to feel sorry for me, hug or hold me, it's not real and I'm fine---

Hello I am the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry

---this means, like the dream(nightmare) part, she's lieing to herself that its not real (since death is such a hard thing to deal with pretending and lies can be easier than truth) meaning she wants to keep believing its a dream, lie---

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping

---she soon breaks down realizing she can't pretend and hold the pain in anymore she finally comes back to reality and confronts it (its like she wakes up to a nightmare instead of going to sleep to one)---

Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday
---she's saying she's awake, still alive but much has died or broke inside---

anonymous January 19th, 2010 03:00PM  
Ok after reading every one's comment I think you all missed something

she is alone maybe in depression (cos of her sis dying) and she is dreaming that she and her sis are playing together like always
then her mind tell her that that her sis is not longer alive this is a lie and she is dreaming
and she is telling her mind that let her be like this don't want to wake up
but in end she wakes up from this lie and realises that only left is memories of her (sis) from yesterday and she have to live on w/o her :(

anonymous February 19th, 2010 07:41PM  
Sounds like it's about a molestation to me

anonymous February 28th, 2010 08:32AM  
It seems to me it's about Columbine and what happened on that day. Or maybe she lost someone she really cared about.