Everybody's Fool

Album: Fallen (2003)
Charted: 24
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Songfacts®:

  • A track from the debut Evanescence album Fallen, "Everybody's Fool" is about people who are fake and superficial, people that pretend to be what they are not just to be accepted and loved in society. Amy Lee wrote it when her sister started turning into one of these people. She was trying to say you should always be yourself for you, and no one else. It doesn't matter what other people say as long as you're happy with who you are, and you aren't pretending. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Chantel - Traverse City, MI
  • When Amy Lee sings about fake people, she could be referring to certain celebrities, or possible to the Roman Catholic Church. The line, "you're not real and you can't save me" could be interpreted as Amy calling out the Pope, saying in effect that he is not really a man of God and is just looking for power politically and socially, not spiritually. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Sandra - Tempe, AZ
  • In our 2016 interview with Amy Lee, she talked about how her take on this song has changed over time. "It's interesting to write songs when you're in high school and then have them become your most famous songs, because you're stuck singing the stuff you were hung up on when you were in high school when you're 34," she said. "I always seemed so preachy about someone else's life. I think there are a lot of ways to look at it. The thing I thought I knew then that I know better now is that you never know what's going on inside anybody, no matter what they seem like. Even if they're the bully. Even if they're the Becky."
  • The video was directed by Philipp Stölz, who also did the clips for "My Immortal" and "Bring Me To Life." It opens with some dialogue, as Amy Lee is seen shooting a commercial in makeup and a blond wig. The rest of the video shows her in various fabricated looks, providing a stark contrast to her distinctive style.

Comments: 39

  • Rob from NyArt reflects life and most songs have a dualistic meaning. On the surface this is about herself in a superficial way like many are indicating. However it is much much deeper than that. It's the truth of our physical reality. The split mind and her coming to realization that none of this reality is real. "More lies about a world that never was and never will be....you know you've got everybody fooled....I know the truth now!" TRUTH in plain sight for those who can see. It's the ego side of her mind...everybody's mind that has them fooled. Very very clever. Mind is all that exists.
  • D from P, OnTo me, it seems that it is most probable that this song has more than one meaning or reference. None of us here wrote this song, did we? But, as I said, to me the subjects that this song is referring the most, or most obviously, is maybe media. Or fake, lying people. Or rich-livers, as Amy sang and wrote, people of 'self-indulgence'. Even cheaters. We won't know. Amy Lee could even be singing about everyone. In fact, doesn't everybody have a little liar in them? A person who pretends to be perfect sometimes, to impress, maybe? A person who's selfish, self-indulgent? Someone who might pretend or cover up their flaws? To show fake perfection and 'beauty'? Isn't the song called 'Everyone's' Fool? Maybe it really means 'Everybody Is A Fool'. I might be wrong, I probably am, really. But I might not be. Amy could be writing/singing about her sister turning to the dark side. It could be about who Amy once was. She was modeling in the official music video, and crossing out the woman with the tons of make up and artificial lighting that shone on her face and around her to make her 'beautiful', while she was her normal, natural self. She could of wrote the song to reprimand herself, upset at who she once was: Fake, Indulgent, a Liar, Flawed. A Fool. Everybody's Fool


  • Rebecca from Ar, MsThis song with its lyrics kind of sounds like someone who turned her back on her beliefs. "Your not real and you cant save me" could refer to jesus and " you've got everybody fooled".
    The" she" she is referring to in this song could be Mother Mary.
    "it never was and never will be, you don't know how you betrayed me, somehow you've got everybody fooled" sounds like she is saying jesus does not exist and her beliefs betrayed her.
    " I know the truth now, I know who you are and I don't love you anymore". Because if your a Christian your suppose to love Jesus, this sounds definitely like she is renouncing her faith.
  • Rebecca from Fall River, MaOkay wow, I've read all the comments about the meaning of this song. And yeah maybe it's all about those facts, but to me, it reminds of someone who I once thought would be in my life forever but it turned out that he was just a player and it really hurt me, but lately I hear that he's been having problems with everything, that includes problems with the person he left me for. So this is my song to him, because he is a fool and he left me for someone he thought was a perfect match for him but it seems she isn't. And now everything is falling apart for him and when I hear this song, I sing with s great smile on my face and just think of how everything is going downhill for him. >:)
  • Mindy from Las Vegas, Nvthis song is actually reminds me of my friend who can relate to this song and i can also relate to this song a little. I relate to the part "Without the mask where will you hide, can't find yourself lost in your lies" and "somehow your now everybody's fool"
  • Natalie Kennon from Denton, TxI love this song. Sometimes I just feel like bursting out with this son to most of the girls at my school since they act so perfect. I love Amy Lee. Her songs have so many meanings that can relate to anyone
  • Alice from Worcestershire, United Kingdomthis is ultimately my favourite song- because it basically describes me in the film that goes with it. I'm not famous or anything, but I have done many stupid things and tried to kill myself twice, from paracetamol overdoses and slitting my wrists. I am truly in the video- it is my life and my feelings that relate to it so well, especially when she punches the mirror and cries on the balcony :P
  • Jill from London, OnThe story of the video, as I saw it, was that Amy Lee was a model for a company that made her seem perfect and was telling people that they should be just like her, and they were making her superficial. Finally she broke down and cut her hair and made herself different so she couldn't be used as a tool anymore.
  • Bethany from Rotherham, United KingdomWell, I think its about emotions you get about yourself as a teenager. Your always trying to fit in and be someone else, and so you begin to hate what you are becoming. Also, its about how beautiful girls often feel ugly on the inside, but people dont see that...

    and how its hard to save someone from themselves.
  • Frankie from Cardiff, United KingdomI totally agree with Kara that this is the larger meaning of the song, but to an extent I think she may be singing to herself, not who she is now, of course, but who she fears she is becoming. I think she is afraid to become one of the celebrities who is always false, lying to everyone and themselves.
  • Sara from Durham, NhI love this song! I want to play it whenever I walk past any group of obnoxious girls at my school who think they are the most amazing people ever and don't realize that everybody with a brain hates them.
  • Heather from Cleveland, TnI think Ben Moody wrote this to Amy Lee as she was gaining more attention from media and fans. He was jealous of her and hated the fact that she was getting most of the attention and he was left out in the cold. That's why he left the band. He was also abusive towards Amy. The lyrics are pretty typical of an abusive male who wants to destroy his partner's self-esteem so that she will think that she can never get anyone better than him (and will therefore never leave him.) But when he finally took off that night in Belgium and she didn't chase after him to beg him to return, his pride was wounded. Ben knew Amy was the star and that she was the one who was leading this band, not him. Just for the record, I do love the music they made together and I wish they could get along and work together again, but not if he is going to be a jerk about it. It sounds like he is your typical spoiled, abusive boyfriend. I've had many like him. He feels entitled to extra attention and special treatment and he just couldn't accept that Amy was now the one getting special treatment and she wasn't catering to his needs like she did before. Ha ha Ben. That's what you get for treating women like they are personal servants and b*tches. As for the few lyrics that don't back up my theory, remember that when several people contribute to writing a song, they each have their own ideas about what the song means to them. But I think this is what Ben was writing about. Amy may have been writing about the church or media or her sister, I don't know.
  • Lexxus from Nun Of Ur Buisness, TxI love this song alot! It really speaks to me.
    Amy Lee wrote this saying "HEY DUDES, SUPERFICIAL
    FREAKS!! IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!!!" LOL! :D
    The music videos shows Amy Lee strugling with
    her superficial life (Even though she isn't
    that kind of person) and how everyone thinks she
    perfect, while she is trying to scream "I'M NOT!"
  • Janet from Orlando, FlI think it is about how people should show themself's as they are and screw everyone else and what they think of you ur you and their them!Be ur own person not a puppuet[janet 4m Tampa]
  • Patty from Alamo, Txto this song can be saying for the all the people that want to be like cool then act like someone totally different cause they want to fit in with everyone...why would you want to be like someone else...be your own...buying wat celeberties wear...wear the f**k wat you want to wear...they can tell you wat to wear....there not your parents....
  • Cortney from Grand Junction, CoAmy actually wrotethis song for the celebritys and because her sister carrie,was starting to act completely fake after she got a role in a movie and she got so caught up in lyeing and making it seem that she was perfect that she truly became,"everybody's fool".
  • Meghan from Portland, Meto me this song is about school and how theres those perfect people that everyone loves, but the truth is there not so perfect and there just like everyone elts. Love this song and the message.
  • Brittany from Kernersville, Ncthis song tells how celebrities is not as perfect as they seem on tv. they go through s**t like every other person do. they r stressed by havin to keep their weight down, havein big brest, or makin sure they have their make-up right. amy sent the message loud and clear to me and other
  • Jailene from K-town, WaTHE MEDIA BLOWS! (Says the girl who reads the Enquirer for kicks.) Anyway, I absolutely love the message this song sends. It always reminds me of preps. Not to sound like, b**chy or anything, it just does.
  • Sai from Ontario, CanadaI adore this song and the message it sends.
  • Hadeel from LebanonThis song really rocks,and it really speaks about real people we see in our daily life,who like to show off and put all this stupid make-up,i do put make-up but to a certain extent. I think Amy is trying to make fun of these artists and singers(such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera)and she IS defintely right...I love Amy...
  • Anna from Lowell, MaI love the video, and it's nice to know that Amy Lee is not going to be one of those girls who will show off how pretty she is. It means a lot to me, and reading these comments make me happy to know that we're not falling under the shallowness teenage girls have become.
  • Tara from Somewhere, Fli can relate this song to me since i hate myself. the first time i heard this song on evanescence.com, i couldn't stop watching the video and i was obsessed with it until i bought the record. i still am obsessed, but not as much.
  • Kara from Cadillac, MiTo me, this song also says a lot about some societal attitudes. Often, the media, or those with a lot of influence, try to paint a perfect picture of how something/someone should be, and then expect people to live up to that idea or concept. It does nothing but make people feel insecure, especially young people, who are very impressionable. For example, clothing models who are so thin that you can see their bones through their skin. Or actresses/actors who have plastic surgery because of the flaws they percieve they have. They don't. People acheive beauty by being kind and treating others with respect; by being a person who cares about something outside of themselves. It has nothing to do with what you have, or wear, or the way you look. Everyone looks different. That's part of the beauty of our world. And when we go against nature and try to promote a sort of faultlessness, that's when we betray ourselves and others. In the end, it hurts. It hurts us inside and those that we present this lie to. This is what I think Amy Lee is singing about- that perception of perfection, when perfection does not exist. It is unobtainable. But there are those who want us to believe it is, in order to benefit them. To make us buy/use their products, to allow them to profit from our insecurities. It is a powerful song when you realize the layers of meaning that are there. What she means by the betrayal, I think, is that we are betrayed into believing that we can achieve the level of perfection/popularity that they portray; but it can't happen. Because perfection simply does not exist. We should never strive to be what others think we should be. We should always remain true to ourselves, and be who we are, and be happy with that person. Not someone else idea of what we should be. We can become very lonely people when we allow others to dictate to us about who we are. In the end, who is it about anyway? You, or what they think of of you?
  • Sherry from Denison, Txthis is my daughter's favorite song. she is 9 years old. she was 8 when she first heard it. she knows every last word of the song. one day, i hope that she will listen to them and understand their meaning. she is a very strong person for 9 years old. she has her own opinion of things and is true to herself. i love her and admire her at the same time.
  • Terry from Houston, TxMost of Evanescences' intros' are pretty creepy. I love IT!!!!! All in All, Amy lee created this band along with her (now former) Lead guitarist. He left the band, because he was so in love with Amy, that he could not see her with the front man for Seether. To be honest, we've all seen this in the past, and I gotta say, it just might bring down the entire evanescence empire. in a nutshell though, Amy's style and high pitched vocals, along with her bakground in piano and instruments of a lighter, more cultured side, mixed with the heavy riffs and exploding sound, are what made this band one of the best post rock groups of my time....ROCK ON AMY!!!!!
  • Tawny from Saint Cahrles, IlWhat does it mean when she says "your not real but youve betrayed me"
  • Charlie from Bethersden, EnglandApril, you rock. So does Amy. EVANESCNCE FANS UNITE!!! DON'T LET THE CHRISTIAN/NON CHRISTIAN DEBATE RUIN MUSIC!!!
  • April from Muncie, InWow, when i heard the song for the first few times for some reason i concepted it that she was talking about an x or something. . . but i saw the video for it and wow. I cried lol! this is now one of the most meaningful songs in the world to me because it describes the way ive felt my whole life about the way all the so called "popular" girls at school have treated me in the past. . . even though im just as pretty and worth just as much as they are. . . yet they make me feel completely the opposite. :-/ also just like the stupid girls you see on tv while your watching it with your boyfriend. Who wants for your boyfriend to watch these fake girls prancing around in short shorts, a belly shirt, and have the perfect body? (totally fake boobs too :-p) yeah, not me. :-p Wow, amy lee is my idol, expecially when she wrote this song. AMAZING.
  • Keaira from Gainesvilled, FlWhoa. Lot's of different opinions. I try to think of it as one always hiding behind a lie, trying to be someone they weren't, and hating themselves for it, fooling everyone, then the day they get found out, you become everybody's fool...hence the name...
    Just another perspective...love the song, it's very nicely written...
  • Eduina from Elbasan, Europei love this song cause i'm a bit like that. It's not my fault cause noone seems to accept u as u r
  • Anna from Freiburg, GermanyThe song describes a little bit of myself. I pretend often to be a girl who I'm not. Definitely not. I've got selfinjury behavior (hope I spelled it right). Everytime I hear it or watch the Video I start to thing of my Life and hope someday it won't be like that anymore.
    I love the song and the Video very much. It's my favorite song for quite a long time!
    Amy forever!
  • Sara from Anoka, Mnamen to that casey, amen to that.
    and if uve seen the music video, does anyone agree that the beginning was very creepy?
  • Casie from Denver, CoSome of you dudes in here are wrong. She made this song because ppl look at themselves and say their unfortunate,they want to be that girl or guy thats super hot and is the sexiest person around when ur so sexy. Amy's concept was lets take an example of Britney,she is so sexy but nobody really cared exept the dumb guys. Well she thought nobody was paying attention to her so she started to get that little slutty girl out that never existed,she created someone she isnt so she can get more attention. Well Britney,congradulations,mission acomplished,u got more attention and defenetly got less fans. She could of been herself instead of fooling herself into little miss slutty girl for more attention and everytime she gets more she pays the price.
  • Janiina from Porvoo, FinlandAmy's sister was a fan of Britney Spears but then everytime Britney appeared, she was always less and less dressed, so Amy decided to make a song of it. I love this song.
  • Zora from Memphis, TnThis is my favorite song ever. It can be seen in many different areas, even politics. Amy has reached above and beyond, and it rocks me to my core. I can really relate to it.
  • Chantel from Traverse City, MiIt is about a situation between teenage girls, and it is about corruption in the media. its both. It's pretty much reflecting how plastic the world is and the lengths people will reach when trying to achieve success, or popularity in anything. How they achieve being the best.
  • Lorelei from Tokyo, Cabecause of the music video, it was clear the intention of the song was about the corruption of the media. before the music video was created, i pictured a situation between teenage girls in which one tries to achieve popularity, a higher reputation among their peers, or simply to blend themselves in more with the crowd by using whatever means necessary to fit in while the other is taunting them because of how they had given into carrying out the legacy of the corrupt, false system they had once hated above all else
  • Rebecca from Fire Realm (fairy World)i love this song its so me but i still love it no matter wat anyone says.but i loveit
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