"The Hell Song" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41. The song was released on February 10, 2003, as the second single of the band's album Does This Look Infected?. "The Hell Song" became a top-40 hit in Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. On May 29, 2015, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

Deryck Whibley, the lead vocalist of Sum 41, wrote "The Hell Song" after learning that one of his friends had contracted HIV. He said, "That song just came out in, like, half an hour when I just found out," Whibley said. "I wasn't even meaning to write about it, but for some reason that just came out right away".

Music video

The music video was of a concert with dolls and action figures, with Sum 41's faces on those "performing" in front of a Lite-Brite screen with the band's name on it. They were joined with other action figures such as those of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ozzy Osbourne with his family, Marilyn Manson, Korn, Metallica, Eddie the Head, Gene Simmons, Spice Girls, Angus Young, Jesus Christ, Alice Cooper, Destiny's Child, George W. Bush and Ludacris. The video ends when police dolls arrive to break up the concert, and the band avoids arrest by taking off in a helicopter (which is then comically hurled out of a window and falls to the ground, accompanied by laughter). The dolls' obscene finger gestures and nudity are comically censored, which parodies real life. The video was directed by Marc Klasfeld. The music video was nominated for Best Breakthrough Video & Best Direction at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, losing both awards to Coldplay's "The Scientist".

Track listings

UK CD1 UK CD2 UK 7-inch single European CD single Australian CD single

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history