Apocalypse Please (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Apocalypse Please |
| Album/single |
|
| Length | 4:12 |
| Alternative titles |
|
| First live performance | 26th May 2002[1] |
| Latest live performance | 1st October 2023 |
| Recorded | Grouse Lodge and AIR Studios 2003 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Rich Costey[2] |
| Chart position | 10 (UK Download)[3] |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intro | < | Apocalypse Please | > | Time Is Running Out |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hullabaloo (2002) | < | Absolution (2003) | > | Black Holes and Revelations (2006) |
Description
The opener to Absolution. It is built up with many layers of instruments, bass, synthesizers and a loud piano.
Additional information
The song is from the "point of view of a person that is wanting their own god to come in and sort everything out"[4] or "religious fanatics and their wish that their prophecies come true. So that they can confirm their religion."[5] A live version of "Apocalypse Please", recorded at Glastonbury in 2004, was released as a single in the form of a charity download (and an accompanying promo),[6] making it the fifth and penultimate single from Absolution.
Recording
"Apocalypse Please" was originally recorded with with an orchestral backing. Matthew Bellamy detailed why this version did not make the album:
- "We struggled with Apocalypse Please; it sounded weak with the strings on it, whereas the other songs sounded really good. We knew that we'd have to re-record Apocalypse Please. We then went to work with Rich Costey.
- That one originally was the one which had the big orchestra on it, but we ended up taking it away because it was too much".[4]
Rich Costey detailed the recording of the drums in December 2003:
- "...the studio had a swimming pool, which of course was full of water, and what we did was bring over a couple of kick drums, put them on stands, and miked one of them really close with the disembodied woofer of an NS10 to get a low, thumping sound, while a few C12 ambient mics were placed in the swimming pool area. We also had to bring mic pres into the pool area for all the same reasons, and Wally and I set things up so that Dominic could actually stand in the water while he was playing, just because it looked really good."[7]
As well as recording in a swimming pool "hot-tub overdubs" were recorded through bubbling water, and submerging cymbals, but these ultimately were unused in the song.[7]
Live
The first time "Apocalypse Please" was played live, at the Stunt Festival in Moscow on the 26th May 2002, Bellamy played the outro in the middle as well as at the end.[1] It was played at most Absolution tour gigs and continued to make appearances on set lists during the Black Holes and Revelations tour.
In late April 2015, it was revealed in an interview that the band were rehearsing this and The Small Print for the upcoming tour. It was indeed played for the first time in almost 8 years, at Webster Hall, in New York on May 8th, 2015. The song is now played regularly since, after skipping the The Resistance and The 2nd Law tours.
Lyrics
Declare this an emergency
Come on and spread a sense of urgency And pull us through And pull us through
And this is the end The end This is the end Of the world
And it's time we saw a miracle Come on it's time for something biblical To pull us through And pull us through
And this is the end The end This is the end Of the world
Proclaim eternal victory Come on and change the course of history And pull us through And pull us through
And this is the end The end This is the end Of the world
Early version
Declare this an emergency
Come on and spread a sense of urgency To pull us through And pull us through
And this is the end The end of the world
It's time we saw a miracle Come on it's time for something biblical To pull us through And pull us through
And this is the end The end of the world
It's time for an emergency Come on and spread the sense of urgency To pull us through And pull us through
And this is the end of all Of the world
References
- ↑ a b Tene. (2008-03-24). Stunt Festival, Moscow, Russia 2002. Retrieved from www.muselive.com.
- ↑ Absolution notes
- ↑ Westlife top first download chart (2004-09-01). BBC. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ a b Absolution EPK
- ↑ We feel sorry for bands being hyped (2003-10-02). Laut. Retrieved 2007-05-01 from laut.de. [verify]
- ↑ Oxfam Download (2004-08-25). MicroCuts. Retrieved from microcuts.net.
- ↑ a b Richard Buskin. (2003-12). Rich Costey: Recording Muse's Absolution. Sound on Sound website. Retrieved 2006-11-04 from www.soundonsound.com. [verify]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM2SJQ2UJQk