"Did My Time" is a song written and recorded by American nu metal band Korn for the film, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. It was released as a single in July 2003 in support of the film, and was later featured on the band's sixth studio album, Take a Look in the Mirror. The song was a staple in the band's live concerts until 2019. "Did My Time" has been performed live about 500 times, making it the second most played song from the album after "Y'All Want a Single".

Music and structure

The song was based on an unfinished idea from the era of 2002's Untouchables. James "Munky" Shaffer had written the main riff and played it frequently during the sessions, but producer Michael Beinhorn did not see potential in it. In early 2003, Korn completed the whole song, and caught the attention of Paramount Pictures who wanted to use it in the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. However, the song was only released as a single for the film, and featured during the end credits. It did not appear on the motion picture soundtrack, due to certain clauses in Jonathan Davis's record contract at the time, the same reason why Davis could not release the original versions of the songs he composed for the Queen of the Damned soundtrack, which featured his vocals. The instrumental version of "Did My Time" was also featured on the PlayStation 2 fighting game Fight Club and VH1's 100 most shocking music moments in the discussion of the Woodstock 1999 riot.

Concept

""It's basically about things in my life that keep going on. When am I fucking finally gonna get a break? I'm saying 'I paid my dues I did my time.' All the messed up shit going on in my life. When is something good gonna happen?" – Jonathan Davis"

Chart performance

"Did My Time" became Korn's first and only top forty entry on the Hot 100, peaking at number thirty-eight in August 2003, due to the physical sales of the CD single.

Charts

Music video

A video was directed by Dave Meyers, mainly known for his work with rapper Missy Elliott, featuring the star of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Angelina Jolie. The video shows Jolie walking through an alley when the ground starts to crack. A black mist rises out of the cracks, which then transforms into the band when the main riff of the song starts. The black mist around them starts to become bigger as the song progresses. At the end of the music video, the band disappears and the cracks disappear as well. Scenes from the movie are shown during the video.

Awards

The song received a nomination at the 2004 Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, but lost to Metallica's "St. Anger". This would be Korn's fourth nomination in the aforementioned category and their sixth overall.

Track listing