Drowning Pool - Bodies (Let The Bodies Hit The Floor)

"Bodies" is a song by American alternative metal band Drowning Pool and the lead single from their debut album Sinner. Released in the summer of 2001, the song is Drowning Pool's most popular single and has been featured in various films, TV programs, and advertising since its release. "Bodies" remained Drowning Pool's highest charting single until "37 Stitches" premiered in fall of 2008.
Musically, "Bodies" has an anthemic, repetitive chorus of "Let the bodies hit the floor!" Its lyrics build by gradually counting up from one to four, shouting the number each time, until reaching its aggressive chorus. Clean vocals in the song's bridge administer a contrast from the many shouted and harshly screamed vocals. The guitar structure of "Bodies" also features heavy use of the wah pedal.
Drowning Pool frontman Dave Williams stated on Uranium that the song is about being in a mosh pit but that it has clearly been misinterpreted. Williams elaborated in a 2001 interview:
"CJ came up with the riff, and I thought that was cool and I said, 'Let the bodies hit the floor,' and they looked at me and said, 'That’s pretty cool.' We just built it around that hook and the rest fell in place. It’s about my perspective when I look out and see the pit. It’s about forgetting everything that has happened to you that week, leave your bullshit at the door and get it all out. But you have to have respect for the others in the pit. If you push them down, you have to pick them back up. I’m not going to get behind the violence thing, it is violent, but there is a certain amount of respect and a code."
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, radio stations owned by media conglomerate Clear Channel voluntarily refused to play "Bodies," or several other similarly popular songs.
This song was also on a compilation CD released by footwear company Journeys along with the song "Start the Commotion" by The Wiseguys.
Much like the song's radio success, the "Bodies" music video found significant airplay on various music channels in 2001. Directed by Glen Bennett, it has the band performing in what appears to be a mental institution, with Williams screaming the lyrics into the ear of a man strapped to a chair. Clips from the video were later used in the title animation for the music program Uranium.