Defector (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Defector |
| Album/single | Drones (8) |
| Length | 4:32 |
| Alternative titles | |
| First live performance | 16th September 2015 |
| Latest live performance | 12th June 2016 |
| Recorded | 2014/2015 - The Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, Canada |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Muse, Robert "Mutt" Lange |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK | < | Defector | > | Revolt |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 2nd Law (2012) | < | Drones (2015) | > | Simulation Theory (2018) |
Information
Defector it’s about making your own decisions by yourself.[1]
According to Matt, in this track along with Revolt, the protagonist of the story takes again control of his life and fights against the dark forces who are trying to control him.[2]
In this song the protagonist begins to feel "free" from the system and the society as a whole, and Matt uses different "colorful images" to describe the person trying to control him.[3]. The term 'Yellow belly' is an expression meaning 'coward', 'Green mind' is a slang for someone who's dirty minded or greedy and "Blue blood" is a reference to royal blood.
The song's making of video was leaked/uploaded on Vimeo on March 29th, 2015. The song is reminiscent of 80s hard rock, and has a Queen and an AC/DC feel to it.
Instrumentation
The song is played fairly heavily, but in a major key. The vocals feature very Queen-like choir moments. The guitar is distorted, as well as the bass that stands out in the verses. It features an extensive use of Whammy pedal, including a Whammy pedal solo.
Trivia
According to Matt, this song was the hardest one to record, alongside The Globalist, and took the longest amount of time. Muse recorded the song in a couple of days, but they later realised it is too fast. They dropped the tempo by 1 BPM, recorded it again, and realised it was too slow, so they had to make a compromise and record it 0.5 BPM faster.
Live
Defector has been a fan favourite off of the album, with many fans begging for it to be played live before its debut. By September, half of the album had still yet to be played live (the entire latter half of the album after JFK). It made its debut at the Music for Life gig on September 16 2015 and made no further appearances until may 2016. The gig was viewed as "special" for one reason or another, as Agitated and United States of Eurasia were also performed (two songs that had been played very rarely during the tour).
Lyrics
Free, yeah, I'm free
From your inciting You can't brainwash me You've got a problem
Free, yeah I’m free From society. You can't control me I'm a defector.
You think you're strong And you can't be broken But you empire is dissolving.
You thought, You thought I was weak But you got it wrong Look into my eyes, I'm a defector.
Free, yeah I’m free from your inciting You can't brainwash me You've got a problem
Free, yeah I’m free From society You can't control me, I'm a defector.
Your blood is blue and Your minds turned green and Your belly is all yellow.
You believe Your throne is too high To be overthrown We'll watch it get razed By a defector
Free, yeah I’m free From your inciting You can't brainwash me You've got a problem
Free, yeah I’m free From society You can’t control me. I’m a defector
I'm a defector Free, yeah I’m free From your inciting You can't brainwash me You've got a problem
Free, yeah I’m free From society You can’t control me. I’m a defector
[John F. Kennedy Speech] We look for strength and assistance Confident that with your help Man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.
References
- ↑ Interview: Muse on their new album, Drones (2015-06-10). Xfm. Retrieved 2015-06-10 from xfm.co.uk.
- ↑ Matt Bellamy. (2015-03-23). Matt Bellamy on BBC Radio 1 - Dead Inside Premiere. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
- ↑ L'édition du Soir by Philippe Richard. (2015-05-18). Que vaut le nouvel album de Muse?. Ouest-france. Retrieved 2015-05-18 from ouest-france.fr/.