Play Dead

"Play Dead" is a song by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, released by the labels Island and Mother as the only single from the soundtrack of the 1993 crime drama The Young Americans, starring Harvey Keitel. The song was not included in the first edition of Debut but was later included as a bonus track, and the album was re-issued in November 1993. It was written by Jah Wobble, Björk featuring David Arnold, and produced by Cannon, Arnold, receiving additional production and mixing by Tim Simenon. "Play Dead", inspired by the main character of the film, was released on 11 October 1993 and charted within the top 20 in Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. An accompanying music video was released, directed by Danny Cannon, featuring images from the film which also was directed by Cannon. "Play Dead" was included in Björk's 2002 greatest hits album Greatest Hits. Background and composition The song was co-written by Jah Wobble, Björk featuring David Arnold. Björk was asked to write the melody and lyrics for the song, while Wobble wrote the bass part and Arnold composed the score, which Björk described as a "greatest hits of what's in the film".