Take a Bow (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Take a Bow |
| Album/single |
|
| Length | 4:35 |
| Alternative titles |
|
| First live performance | 11th October 2003 (instrumental) 28th June 2006 (full) |
| Latest live performance | 3rd October 2019 |
| Recorded | Studio Miraval - 2005/2006 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Rich Costey |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < | Take a Bow | > | Starlight | |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolution (2003) | < | Black Holes and Revelations (2006) | > | The Resistance (2009) |
Description
Take a Bow calls on world leaders to take responsibility for their actions. Muse move through three musical stages: starting off as a classical piece before moving into a techno mid-section and a heavy "apocalyptic rock" ending. Initially described "a looping epic which morphs into a gothic fairytale".[2]
Matt said that: "The first song "Take A Bow", is about the feeling of the little man who lost control of anything and now wants to take revenge on authority". [3] "You can hear the people who are at the bottom of the pyramid, who haven’t got any power, and they have this feeling of powerlessness, a feel I have quite often, about some of these events – this sense of, “What can I do about this?” It seems like no one is listening. A million people protest, and nothing really happens[4]
Additional information
Initially called "Hex", "Take a Bow" was originally going to be at the end of the album.[5] Two months later, Chris indicated it could become the opening track.[6] Put first on the album because it ends in the key of B which is the key of the second track. .
Wolstenholme: We wrote it at the end of the Absolution sessions, and it sounds similar [to Absolution tracks]. It has evolved a lot since then, but it’s principle remains the same: a change of periodic agreements which are at the brink of exploding. Its structure is mathematical, the main idea being a formula with neither chorus nor verse. Dom’s never played like that, with very jazzy rhythms, slow ones, followed by more chaotic bits integrated into the whole.[6]
Based on this account, we can assume the song was written sometime around 2003. It was was often played as a piano interlude between Citizen Erased and Space Dementia on the Absolution tour throughout 2003 and 2004, as well as an intro to Feeling Good on The Resistance Tour. Take a Bow, as well as Soldier's Poem, are the earliest Black Holes and Revelations songs to be written from what is known about today.
According to Rich Costey, David Bowie was present when Muse were recording the song and that the originally was going to "carry though several different epochs of music", the first part being classical, the second electronic and the last one rock. However due the complex nature of it and because the band disliked the sound, they went "straight up Philip Glass"; the string players who performed were from Italy and then, put a "sort of" a Moog synthesizer over it, becoming then a "Moog symphony" with an orchestra behind it. [7]
Composition
Take a Bow is written in 3/4 time and moves at a tempo of 130 bpm. Bellamy's vocal range in the song spans from C3 to G4 in the modal register, and up to G5 in falsetto; one of the widest vocal ranges in a Muse song.
The chord structure moves in fourths upwards, by using the augmented fifth in between to move.[8]
The key of the song changes a total of 13 times, each time moving to the nearest key in the circle of fifths. It begins in D major before following the circle counter-clockwise to E♭. After the lyric "Our freedom's consuming itself," the song goes clockwise back to F. After the techno mid-section, the song again begins moving counter-clockwise around the circle, changing key 6 times before finishing in B.
Take A Bow (Four Hands Piano)
| Matthew Bellamy Song | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Take A Bow (Four Hands Piano) | |||
| Album/single | Cryosleep | |||
| Length | 4:49 | |||
| Alternative titles | - | |||
| First live performance | - | |||
| Latest live performance | - | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy | |||
| Producer | Aleks Von Korff, Matthew Bellamy | |||
| Matthew Bellamy Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge Over Troubled Water | < | Take A Bow (Four Hands Piano) | > | Guiding Light (On Jeff's Guitar) |
A piano rendition of the song. As the name suggests, it was recorded as if two people are playing it on a piano. The release of this version of the song was announced by Bellamy on April 7th, 2021. It is part of Bellamy's own limited-edition picture disc release, titled "Cryosleep ", which also features Pray with Game of Thrones' vocals removed and Guiding Light played on Jeff Buckley's Telecaster. The EP was released as part of the 2021 Record Store Day on July 16th. [9]
The short EP was released on a 12" disc combined with a music booklet.
Live
Lyrics
Corrupt
You corrupt And bring corruption to all that you touch
Hold You'll behold And beholden for all that you've done
Spell Cast a spell Cast a spell on the country you run
And risk You will risk You will risk all their lives and their souls
And burn You will burn You will burn in hell Yeah, you'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell for your sins
Oh, our freedom's consuming itself What we've become Is contrary to what we want Take a bow
Death You bring death And destruction to all that you touch
Pay You must pay You must pay for your crimes against the earth
Hex Feed the hex Feed the hex on the country you love
And beg You will beg You will beg for their lives and their souls
Yeah, and burn You will burn You will burn in hell Yeah, you'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell Yeah, you'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell Yeah you'll burn in hell for your sins
References
- ↑ Setlist - Berlin Columbiahalle 2003
- ↑ New songs review (2006-03-15). NME magazine. [verify]
- ↑ INTRO Magazin. (2007). INTRO Magazine online article. Retrieved 2015-01-16 from INTRO.
- ↑ Marcus Kagler. (2006-07-20). Muse. Under the Radar. Retrieved 2006-07-21. [verify]
- ↑ (Matt Bellamy via) Tom Kirk. (2006-02-23). Message from the band on album progress!. Retrieved from board.muse.com.
- ↑ a b Discussion in London (2006-05). Rock Mag. Retrieved 2007-05-09. [verify]
- ↑ Jeff Touzeau. (2007-03). An Evening with Rich Costey. EQ. [verify]
- ↑ Take a Bow tablature. Faber Music Ltd. [verify]
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CNX1bzJDChw/