Dragula (song)

{{Infobox song

| name = Dragula

| cover = Rob Zombie Dragula.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Rob Zombie

| album = Hellbilly Deluxe

| B-side = {{ubl|"Super Monster Sex Action",|"Halloween (She Get So Mean)"}}

| released = {{start date|1998|8|24}}

| recorded = 1998

| studio = Chop Shop, Hollywood, California

| venue =

| genre = {{hlist|Industrial metal{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/500032/rob-zombie-solo-debut-is-monstrous/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317070208/http://www.mtv.com/news/500032/rob-zombie-solo-debut-is-monstrous/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 17, 2016 |title=Rob Zombie Solo Debut Is Monstrous |publisher=MTV |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=July 31, 1998 |access-date=November 7, 2018}}|nu metal{{cite web | url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-greatest-nu-metal-songs-edsel-dopes-picks | title=10 Greatest Nu-Metal Songs: Edsel Dope's Picks | date=12 September 2022 }}}}

| length = 3:42

| label = Geffen

| writer = Rob Zombie
Scott Humphrey

| producer = Rob Zombie
Scott Humphrey

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Living Dead Girl

| next_year = 1999

| misc = {{External music video|type=Single|{{YouTube|EqQuihD0hoI|"Dragula"}}}}

{{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|NwQaQbnI0yE|"Dragula (Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare Mix)"}}}}

}}

"Dragula" is a debut solo single co-written and recorded by American rock musician Rob Zombie. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from his solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe. Since its release, it has become Zombie's most recognizable song as a solo artist. It is also his best-selling song, and had sold over 717,000 copies in the U.S. by 2010.[http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/68581/chart-watch-extra-halloweens-greatest-hits/ Chart Watch Extra: Halloween's Greatest Hits - Chart Watch] The song is based on the drag racer "DRAG-U-LA" from the sitcom The Munsters.

The audio clip "superstition, fear and jealousy" heard at the beginning of the song is a sample of dialogue from the 1960 horror film The City of the Dead (also known as Horror Hotel), and is spoken by Christopher Lee.{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/the-20-greatest-rob-zombie-songs-ranked/|title=The 20 greatest Rob Zombie songs – ranked|last=Law|first=Sam|date=May 17, 2021|website=Kerrang!|access-date=July 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702013552/https://www.kerrang.com/features/the-20-greatest-rob-zombie-songs-ranked/|archive-date=July 2, 2021|url-status=live}}

The song also appears on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future, the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie. The original single included a big beat remix of the song by Charlie Clouser, entitled the "Hot Rod Herman" remix (in reference to the Munsters episode), which is contained on American Made Music to Strip By (under the name Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare Mix). Additionally, it appeared on the soundtracks for video games, films and TV shows.

Background and writing

Zombie told Billboard magazine that the title came from the name of Grandpa Munster's eponymous dragster DRAG-U-LA on The Munsters. He goes on to say that it "was a classic show with great comic characters. Strangely enough, 'Dragula' was one of the last songs finished for the record. It fell together really fast and worked, but it could just as easily not [have] been on the record."Billboard, November 21, 1998 - Vol. 110, No. 47, Page 81.

Music video

The music video shows Rob Zombie driving the Munster Koach (not the actual Dragula racing car) with various shots of the band members and different scenes from classic horror films, e.g. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) at the beginning of the video and the killer robot from chapter film series The Phantom Creeps (1939) along with home video footage of mid-20th-century families being entertained by a clown with clips of nuclear testing mushroom clouds sardonically overlapping of when the clown and a girl are laughing, with the multi-color backdrops referencing Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), also with early-20th-century footage of children being entertained and shocked. It achieved heavy rotation on MTV following the huge success of the album. The video also appears in the 1999 film Idle Hands.

Releases

{{track listing

|headline = UK CD Maxi Single

|total_length = 12:00

|title1 = Dragula

|length1 = 3:42

|title2 = Dragula

|note2 = Hot Rod Herman Remix

|length2 = 4:36

|title3 = Dragula

|note3 = Enhanced Music Video

|length3 = 3:42

}}

{{track listing

|headline = UK 7" Picture Disc 1

|total_length = 6:32

|title1 = Dragula

|length1 = 3:42

|title2 = Halloween (She Get So Mean)

|length2 = 2:50

}}

{{track listing

|headline = UK 7" Picture Disc 2

|total_length = 8:18

|title1 = Dragula

|length1 = 3:42

|title2 = Dragula

|note2 = Hot Rod Herman Remix

|length2 = 4:36

}}

{{track listing

|headline = US Promotional 7"

|total_length = 6:42

|title1 = Dragula

|length1 = 3:42

|title2 = Super Monster Sex Action

|length2 = 3:00

}}

{{track listing

|headline = US CD Maxi Single

|total_length = 10:47

|title1 = Dragula

|length1 = 3:42

|title2 = Dragula

|note2 = Hot Rod Herman Remix

|length2 = 4:36

|title3 = What Lurks On Channel X?

|length3 = 2:29

}}

Personnel

Rob Zombie – vocals
Riggs – guitars
Blasko – bass
Tempesta – drums

=Additional personnel=

Rob Zombie – lyrics, artwork, music
Tom Baker – mastering
Paul DeCarli – additional programming
Frank Gryner – additional engineering
Scott Humphrey – production, engineering, mixing, programming
Chris Lord-Alge – additional mixing

Charts

scope="col"\| Chart (1998) ! scope="col"\| Peak position
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+Chart performance for "Dragula"
{{single chart\|Canadarock\|1\|chartid=7034\|rowheader=true\|access-date=April 10, 2023}}
{{single chart\|Scotland\|50\|date=19981220\|rowheader=true\|access-date=July 9, 2025}}
{{single chart\|UK\|44\|date=19981220\|rowheader=true\|access-date=July 9, 2025}}
{{single chart\|Billboardbubbling100\|16\|artist=Rob Zombie\|rowheader=true\|access-date=April 10, 2023}}
{{single chart\|Billboardmainstreamrock\|6\|artist=Rob Zombie\|rowheader=true\|access-date=April 10, 2023}}
{{single chart\|Billboardalternativesongs\|27\|artist=Rob Zombie\|rowheader=true\|access-date=April 10, 2023}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Dragula"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Rob Zombie|title=Dragula|award=Platinum|relyear=1999|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=May 30, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Rob Zombie|title=Dragula|award=Gold|relyear=1998|certyear=2025|id=18761-3895-1|access-date=May 30, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

In popular culture

The Hot Rod Herman remix version of the song is featured in the soundtrack of the 1999 Warner Bros. film The Matrix. The song was also featured in several video games including Sled Storm,{{cite book |title=Sled Storm instruction booklet |publisher=Electronic Arts |year=1999 |pages=18–19}} Twisted Metal 4,{{cite web |last=Conlin |first=Shaun |url=http://www.elecplay.com/reviewfull_1819.html |title=Reviews: Twisted Metal 4 |work=The Electric Playground |publisher=Elecplay.com Productions |year=1999 |access-date=January 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210131607/http://www.elecplay.com/reviewfull_1819.html |archive-date=February 10, 2001 |url-status=dead}} Gran Turismo 2,{{cite book |title=Gran Turismo 2 instruction booklet |publisher=Sony Computer Entertainment |year=1999 |pages=50–52}} and Jet Set Radio.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/Jet_Grind_Radio_2000_Sega_US/page/n15/mode/2up |title=Jet Grind Radio instruction booklet |publisher=Sega |year=2000 |page=31}} In addition, the original version was featured the in the 2012 Twisted Metal reboot and in Fortnite Festival.{{Cite web |last=Brkljač |first=Bhernardo Viana, Ryan Galloway, Slobodan |date=May 25, 2024 |title=All free Fortnite Festival songs today (May 2024) |url=https://dotesports.com/fortnite/news/fortnite-festival-songs-today |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Dot Esports |language=en-US}}