“My Immortal” by Evanescence

"My Immortal" goes back a long way: Amy Lee and Ben Moody wrote it when they were both 15, the first version was cut in 1997, and it turned up on Evanescence's self-titled 1998 EP years before their 2003 debut album Fallen. Lee wrote the words, a piece of fiction about a spirit that won't let go of the person it haunts, and set them to a piano power ballad that aches rather than rocks.

Its road to the album was messy. Wind-up put a 2000 demo recording on Fallen over Lee's objections, keeping her demo vocal and a MIDI keyboard, with strings from Daredevil composer Graeme Revell laid on top. The single that December was a fresh "band version" with guitar, drums, bass and a David Campbell string arrangement, and it went on to earn a Grammy nomination.

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