Liberation (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Liberation[1] |
| Album/single | Will of the People (3) |
| Length | 3:06[2] |
| Alternative titles | |
| First live performance | 23rd October 2022 |
| Latest live performance | |
| Recorded | 2021 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Muse |
| Chart position | |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance | < | Liberation | > | Won't Stand Down |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation Theory (2018) | < | Will of the People (2022) | > | |
Description
Described by NME as a "ballad-turned-Queen rocker.[3] Later on, another review said that the song is a modern calling from with that of Queen's greatest song, Bohemian Rhapsody. Furthermore, Alt Note Magazine described Liberation as being Freddie-Mercurial and grandiose. Liberation is most reminiscent of Queen-influenced songs, most notably United States of Eurasia, harking back to The Resistance era.
In the same NME interview mentioned above, Bellamy said about the song, that it is "leaning towards what I felt seeing the Black Lives Matter protests. I’m not gonna try to claim to have any understanding of what that culture’s been through or anything, but “intend to erase your place in history” was that feeling of anger… that emotion that you feel in the moment of revolution, where you just want to tear it down and destroy this, even to the extent of changing history itself – people pulling statues down. And “you stole the airwaves but the air belongs to us."
The song's title has been "officially" leaked on March 14th, 2022 via the JSON output from wontstanddown.muse.mu, which contains basic album info, while the song was leaked together with the rest of the album on August 23rd, 2022.
Instrumentation
The song is built around piano, bass and drums. It starts out with just a piano and vocal intro, before quickly bringing in bass and drums over stacked vocals for the choruses, similar to how the bass and drums in United States of Eurasia are brought in. The song mellows out again for the second verse, this time bringing in an acoustic guitar and a few electronic drum samples. The final part utilises the acoustic guitar, together with some piano, jazzy drums and acoustic bass.
Live
Liberation was first played live in Amsterdam's Royal Theatre Carré, during the Will of the People Theatre Tour, in October 2022.
More here.
Lyrics
Silenced
You'll make us feel silenced You stole the airwaves, but the air belongs to us And violence, you'll make us turn to violence You've left us choice-less Our backs against the wall no more, and
We have plans to take you down We intend to erase your place in history Soon (soon) you'll be left with nothing So I guess we should thank you (thank you) Thank you (thank you) Thank you (thank you) We've had enough We thank you for playing your part in our liberation
And losing, the world can see you're losing You'll send the army to trample on our prayers And silenced, we'll be no longer silenced You'll hear our voices They'll rise even though we're under siege, and
We have plans to take you down (forced abdication) We intend to erase your place in history (regime revocation) Soon (soon) you'll be left with nothing So I guess we should thank you (thank you) Thank you (thank you) Thank you (thank you) We've had enough Thank you for playing your part in our liberation, liberation Liberation... Liberation...