Released July 4, 2006 Length 3:12 Writer(s) Ronnie Winter | Format CD single Label Virgin | |
Genre Pop punk, emo, post-hardcore | ||
"Face Down" is the first single by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus from their debut album Don't You Fake It released in 2006. The song peaked at number 24 in the United States and number 4 in New Zealand, as well as number 10 on the Pop 100, number 3 on Modern Rock Tracks chart, and number 20 on the Hot Digital Tracks. Four different versions, including an acoustic version, were released. It also tied 30 Seconds to Mars' "The Kill" as the longest-running song on the Modern Rock Tracks chart at 52 weeks despite not peaking number 1. It remains their most successful single as of 2015.
Contents
Music video
The music video for "Face Down" parallels the song in its treatment of violence in a relationship. After arriving home, a young woman examines a bruise on her lower back, and begins to look for and examine items that she associates with her boyfriend (i.e. pictures, a card, letters). As she does so, objects around her start to suddenly move as if thrown or destroyed by the unseen hand of an abuser. The level of damage done escalates throughout the video, though the young woman does not react or acknowledge the growing violence around her. After a chair flies through the living room window, she takes the pictures and letters and throws them into a garbage can outside her house. This unfolding scene is juxtaposed with shots of the band performing the song in a living room with lighting and decor which appear to be the young woman's.
Versions and samples
There are two edits of the "Don't You Fake It" version which are the album version and the radio edit. Although both edits are nearly identical, the "Don't You Fake It" album version had less screaming compared to the original version with only brief screaming during the bridge. However, the radio edit completely removes the screaming in the bridge. While some alternative rock stations managed to play the album version, most of them and all commercial radio stations played the radio version.
There is also a heavier version of the song that appears on their debut album. The lyrics are unchanged but the chorus is in a different spot. The most notable difference is how the lyrics are screamed, and it sounds very distinctive in comparison to the "Don't You Fake It" version with less screaming.
An acoustic version of "Face Down" was released after the album version. The lyrics are unchanged, however a previously unheard guitar part supplements the song. This version is available on iTunes and the "deluxe edition" of Don't You Fake It. On iTunes, there is another version under the album of AOL Sessions Undercover-EP. This is technically a live acoustic version of the song.