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"Broken Pieces Shine"
The Bitter Truth
Released March 26, 2021
Length 3:50
Producers Nick Raskulinecz
Label BMG
Chronology
'The Bitter Truth'
"Artifact/The Turn" "Broken Pieces Shine" "The Game is Over"


"Broken Pieces Shine" is the second track on Evanescence's fifth studio album, The Bitter Truth.

Background[]

The song was written and conceived by Amy Lee and Jen Majura in 2019. It's about the pain and beauty of survival, the wisdom bred from suffering, the grace that can be found in the acceptance of what is.[1]

“We were in Canada on a writing camp trip out in the woods in 2019,” recalls Amy, before noting how the hunter-gatherer duties in the band were split. ​“The men went to go get music stuff that we forgot, like a snare stand and whatever else, and the women went to the grocery store (laughs). On the way back, we were just showing each other ideas in the car on our phones, little pre-recorded demos and stuff. Jen had this really cool idea that turned into that chugging verse music. I just started rewinding it and singing on it over and over.

I see Broken Pieces Shine as an anthem for us and our fans From the beginning, I visualised us onstage in that ​‘together moment’. It’s about letting yourself fall apart, letting those flaws become the things that we not only accept about ourselves, but also embrace. To be your true self rather than holding it in is truly freeing. We have things about us that we may see as flaws, but just change your perspective a little bit – our flaws can be our superpowers. That’s what makes us different. That’s what makes us unique.”

In an interview with Consequence in March 2021, Amy discussed the inspiration behind the song:

We all really love that song. It was a tricky one to write. There was so many versions of that chorus, and that’s kind of a recurring theme for me. From a lyrical standpoint, it’s empowering for me, because it really kind of sums up one of the big themes on the album, which is about not glossing over or burying or hiding from the brokenness of ourselves and the world or our flaws or the things that we wish weren’t weren’t happening. To ignore it and to not face it would be to miss out on the beauty of life. You need the dark to have the light, and we all try to project our best selves, but there’s something really beautiful about just opening yourself up and letting the “Broken Pieces Shine.”[2]

The song was heard for the first time in Amy Lee's CBS This Morning interview in August 2020 when it showed her sitting in front of a computer in her home studio.[3]

Lyrics[]

Three, two, one, zero

There is no way back this time
What is real and what is mine?
Oh, survival hurts

Lose myself or lose my mind
Every time I close my eyes
Oh, survival hurts

But I keep breathing in

I'm alive
I'm not fine
I don't know if I will be alright
But I have to try
I know you're with me, so what if we do fall apart?
Give into all that we are
And let all the broken pieces shine
(Shine, shine, shine...)

Shuttered inside, looking out
Everything's turned upside down
Oh, we're not the first
How can we ever be us?
Wondering who we can trust
Oh, survival hurts

I'm not giving in

I'm alive
I'm not fine
I don't know if I will be alright
But I have to try
I know you're with me, so what if we do fall apart?
Give into all that we are
And let all the broken pieces come alive
I don't know if I will ever be alright
But I have to try
And I know you're with me
So what if we do fall apart?
Shamelessly be who we are
And let all the broken pieces shine

Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Let all the broken pieces shine
Let all the broken pieces shine
Let all the broken pieces shine
Let all the broken pieces shine
Let all the broken pieces shine

The Bitter Truth Evolution Demo[]

Going out of time
Can you still hear me?
Or is this in my mind?
I need you near me
I can't get you out of my head
Still singing songs for the dead
Baby, 'cause broken champs still shine

Let all the bro-, let all the broken pieces shine
Let all the broken pieces shine

Audio[]

Trivia[]

  • The song opens with a sample of the Apollo 11 launch countdown, the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon in 1969.[4]
  • The Bitter Truth Evolution cassette tape from the album's deluxe box set contains an early demo of the song with alternate lyrics.

Credits[]

References[]


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