"Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" is a song by the American rock band Fuel. It was released on September 14, 2000 as the lead single from their second studio album, Something Like Human. It spent 12 weeks at number 1 on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, and a total of 40 weeks on the survey; in 2023, Billboard ranked "Hemorrhage" as the 12th largest hit in the chart's history. It also hit number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. To date, it is Fuel's highest charting single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 30. It also peaked number 17 on the Adult Top 40 chart and number 22 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.
Contents
Background and writing
Carl Bell explained "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on an episode of VH1 Storytellers in 2001, stating: "This is as deep as it goes, for me. When I was younger, my grandmother got cancer. By the time they found it, it was much too late. Instead of sitting in some hospital, she wanted to go home and be home. And my mother and my aunts and their husbands went to sit with her at home. A few months passed, and the cancer had spread, it had eaten up most of her body and all of her hope, and it was a bad time. One particular day was a really bad day for her. My mother was sitting with her that evening, and she turned to my mom, and said, 'How do you die?' It crushed my mom, and it's still crushing for me." This initial version of the song was never recorded because it was too personal for Bell.
Reception
The song was Billboard magazine's number five Rock Song of the Decade, according to their Best of the 2000s Rock Songs chart. In 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Alternative Airplay, Billboard published a list of the top 100 most successful songs in the history of the chart; "Hemorrhage" was ranked at number 12.
Music video
The music video for "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" was directed by Nigel Dick and was filmed between August 1–2, 2000 at Kitchener City Hall in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and features Fuel performing as well as Nick Koppell and Szilvia Jones playing a couple. The red car is a 1971 Buick Riviera.
American Idol
Chris Daughtry performed this song on American Idol as a fifth season contestant in early 2006, which was during the period after longtime singer and guitarist Brett Scallions had left the group, prompting Fuel bassist Jeff Abercrombie and guitarist and songwriter Carl Bell to publicly ask Daughtry to be their new lead singer on the television show Extra. On the show, Abercrombie stated: "Chris, if you are watching, we've talked about this before, and if you want to entertain it again we'll take it and go..." Daughtry, although flattered, eventually declined the offer, opting to form his own band, Daughtry, instead.
Track listing
"Hemorrhage (In My Hands)"
"Easy"
"Stripped Away"
"Going to California" (Led Zeppelin cover, written by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant)
Personnel
Brett Scallions – vocals
Carl Bell – guitar, backing vocals
Jeff Abercrombie – bass
Kevin Miller – drums
Ben Grosse – producer, engineer, mixing
Tom Baker – mastering