DOWNLOAD THE SONGSHEET
Pompeii (C)(WORD)
Pompeii (C)(PDF)
Pompeii (F)(WORD)
Pompeii (F)(PDF)
You can play along with the 1st video using the (C) songsheet! The actual recording is written in the key of A major with a chord progression of D, A, F#m, E. Thanks to Michelle for suggesting this song for BUG!
Bastille are a British indie pop band formed in 2010. The group began as a solo project by lead vocalist Dan Smith, but later expanded to include keyboardist Kyle Simmons, bassist and guitarist Will Farquarson and drummer Chris "Woody" Wood. Pompeii's title and lyrics refer to the Roman town of the same name that was destroyed and buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. According to Dan Smith, the song is written as a conversation between two victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, stating in an interview, "I was reading a book that had some picture of the people who got caught up in the volcanic eruption. And it's just such a kind of dark powerful image, and it got me thinking about how boring it must have been emotionally after the event. To be sort of stuck in that same position for hundreds and hundreds of years. So, the song is sort of an imaginary conversation between these two people who are stuck next to each other in their sort of tragic death pose."
"Pompeii" became the band's breakthrough hit, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and became the eleventh best-selling song that year and, until June 2014, was the country's most streamed single of all time. It was also successful worldwide, reaching the top ten in fifteen countries, including the United States where it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Bastille's most successful single to date, until "Happier" reached number two on both the UK and US charts in October 2018 and February 2019 respectively.
The song was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards. A mashup of the song with Rudimental and Ella Eyre's "Waiting All Night" was performed live by Rudimental, Eyre and Bastille at the aforementioned ceremony, which reached number 21 in the UK. It was also performed at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where it was nominated for Alternative Rock Song of the Year.