In Too Deep (Sum 41 song) explained

In Too Deep
Cover:Sum41itd.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Sum 41
Album:All Killer No Filler
Genre:Pop punk[1]
Length:3:27
Label:Aquarius
Producer:Jerry Finn
Prev Title:Fat Lip
Prev Year:2001
Next Title:Motivation
Next Year:2002

"In Too Deep" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the seventh track on their debut studio album All Killer No Filler (2001), and was released as the second single in September 2001.

History

According to Ben Cook of Fucked Up, No Warning and Young Guv, "In Too Deep" was originally a reggae song, to be released by writer Greig Nori's band Treble Charger and feature rapper Snow in the verses.[2]

Singer Deryck Whibley told Kerrang that one night when he was 18, he and his friend, guitarist Dave Baksh, were going to drive to downtown Toronto to hang out. Baksh was very late in picking Whibley up, and Whibley started playing around with his guitar while sitting by the window and waiting. The riff came first, and he started improvising verses and the chorus, and within three or four minutes, had come up with everything but the guitar solo and bridge. He recorded it on his small recorder before Baksh finally arrived, and didn't think much of it. He finally got around to finishing the whole song a few months later.[3]

He said "the words were based on very basic-level relationship stuff that I’d gone through in high school, because that was my reference point." Specifically, the inspiration was a bad relationship he'd had in 10th grade, which at the time had made him never want to have another girlfriend again. "I guess I was able to sort of tap into those early relationships and it’s universal, so I was milling the simplicity in that. There’s something magical about that era in your life," he said.[3]

Music video

The music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and premiered in September 2001. It is a parody of the diving competition scene from the Rodney Dangerfield film Back to School. Sum 41 face another dive team, represented as stereotypical high school "jocks" with muscular bodies and red Speedos. Each band member takes their turn diving off the board in comical fashion as they dive against their opposition, who dive with mocking perfection. After guitarist Dave Baksh completes his dive, he then rises out of the water to play his guitar solo (Baksh and bassist Jason "Cone" McCaslin have both confirmed this scene was inspired by the video for Guns N' Roses' "Estranged"). After each dive, the video cuts to a scene of the band playing in an empty pool surrounded by fans. For the last dive, drummer Steve Jocz does a comically dramatic dive similar to the dive done by Dangerfield's character in Back to School (known as the 'Triple Lindy' in the film) in which he bounces off of every diving board and lands perfectly in the water. Jocz is rewarded with near-perfect marks from the judges, the band wins the competition and the judges and some of the audience jump into the pool in celebration.

The diving scenes were filmed at the since-demolished Industry Hills Aquatic Club in the City of Industry, California, the very same site as where the Back to School movie was shot. The pool scenes were shot at the Cadillac Jack's and Pink Motel in Sun Valley, California.

In popular culture

Track listings

Single

  1. In Too Deep (3:27)
  2. Fat Lip (Live) (2:55)
  3. All She's Got (Live) (3:02)
  4. It's What We're All About (Live, With Tommy Lee on drums) (2:47)

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2001)Position
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 194
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[7] 81

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United StatesSeptember 25, 2001Alternative radioIsland[9]
United KingdomDecember 3, 2001Mercury[10]
JapanJanuary 23, 2002CDIsland[11]
AustraliaFebruary 11, 2002[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: In Defense Of The Genre: 5 Seconds Of Summer's favorite pop-punk songs . . August 5, 2014.
  2. Web site: Sum 41's "In Too Deep" Was Nearly a Reggae Song with Treble Charger and Snow. Murphy. Sara. March 8, 2018. Exclaim!. March 10, 2018.
  3. Web site: How I Wrote In Too Deep, By Sum 41's Deryck Whibley . . McLaughlin. David. September 4, 2019 . May 24, 2021.
  4. Web site: One Of Two-Face's Best Jokes In Harley Quinn Season 3 Almost Got Cut. Meenan. Devin. February 19, 2023. July 22, 2024.
  5. Web site: The Hits Charts (Airplay) : Top 100 singles. https://web.archive.org/web/20020106084931/http://allpop.com/JamMusicCharts/BDS_1.html. dead. 2002-01-06. Broadcast Data Systems. February 15, 2023.
  6. Web site: The Official UK Singles Chart 2001. UKChartsPlus. May 14, 2019.
  7. Most-Played Modern Rock Songs of 2001. Airplay Monitor. 9. 51. 40. December 21, 2001.
  8. Most-Played Modern Rock Songs of 2002. Airplay Monitor. 10. 51. 44. December 20, 2002.
  9. Alternative: Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1420. 82. September 21, 2001. June 5, 2021.
  10. New Releases – For Week Starting December 3, 2001: Singles. Music Week. 23. December 1, 2001. August 21, 2021.
  11. Web site: 新譜発売日一覧 2002年 1月分. New Release Date List for January 2002. Universal Music Japan. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20020808072005fw_/http://www.universal-music.co.jp/u-pop/mein/release/0201.html. August 8, 2002. August 27, 2023.
  12. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 11th February 2002. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20020220130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20020221-0000/www.aria.com.au/Issue624.pdf. dead. 2002-02-20. ARIA. 25. February 11, 2002. June 5, 2021.