Released: February 22, 2013

Songwriter: Dan Smith

Producer: Dan Smith Mark Crew

[Directed by Jesse John Jenkins]

[Intro]
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu

[Verse 1]
I was left to my own devices
Many days fell away with nothing to show

[Pre-Chorus]
And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love
Grey clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above

[Chorus]
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like you've been here before?
How am I going to be an optimist about this?
How am I going to be an optimist about this?

[Verse 2]
We were caught up and lost in all of our vices
In your pose as the dust settled around us

[Pre-Chorus]
And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love
Grey clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above

[Chorus]
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like you've been here before?
How am I going to be an optimist about this?
How am I going to be an optimist about this?

[Bridge]
Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?
Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?

[Pre-Chorus]
And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love
(Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?)
Grey clouds roll over the hills bringing darkness from above
(Oh, where do we begin, the rubble or our sins?)

[Chorus]
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like you've been here before?
How am I going to be an optimist about this?
How am I going to be an optimist about this?
If you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?

[Outro]
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu
Eh, eheu, eheu

Bastille

Bastille is a British indie pop band. After releasing a limited single in 2010 and the Laura Palmer EP in 2011, the band was signed to Virgin Records. Following their signing, the band released two mix-tapes – Other People’s Heartache and Other People’s Heartache Pt. 2 — for free. In an interview with The Guardian, Dan Smith discussed the

Someone recently said to ‘The mixtapes were very clever, was that the label’s idea?’ Actually the label were completely against it; we were stealing and sampling illegally left, right and centre. The label ‘We want nothing to do with this.’ When it came to hosting the mixtapes, I had to register the website myself.

Preceding the release of their debut album, Bad Blood, the band released several singles — “Overjoyed”, “Bad Blood” and “Flaws”— to moderate commercial success. In February 2013, the band was catapulted into the charts by the album’s fourth single, “Pompeii”. The song was a commercial hit, going up to 5x Platinum around the world. In June 2014, “Pompeii” was confirmed to be the United Kingdom’s most streamed song ever. Unfortunately, it has since been overtaken.