New Born (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | New Born |
| Album/single |
|
| Length | 6:02, 4:41 (Radio edit), 6:04 (XX Anniversary RemiXX) |
| Alternative titles | New One, Strangle, Strangulation |
| First live performance | 16th May 2000 |
| Latest live performance | 15th October 2019 (shortened) |
| Recorded | Ridge Farm Studios Surrey, 2001 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | David Bottrill |
| Chart position | 12 |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < | New Born | > | Bliss | |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showbiz (1999) | < | Origin of Symmetry (2001) | > | Hullabaloo (2002) |
Description
A "misleading" Showbiz-era style intro of tinkly piano, which then proceeds into Origin of Symmetry era sound, riffs and distortion.
Matthew Bellamy's definition of New Born
"A feeling of not being connected to each other, but we are, and it's a feeling of the mind evolving from the body, but when that happens you just get this yearn to do something physical and feel something sensational, physical-ness-ness".
"It's about a semi-fear of the evolution of technology, and how in reality it's destroying all humanity. My fear is that we can't control it because it's moving faster than we are, so the songs setting myself in a location in the future where the body is no longer important and everyone's plugged into a network. The opening line is 'link it to the world', so it's connecting yourself on a worldwide scale and being born into another reality, in a way it's on the same lines as the film The Matrix, but we weren't intending on copying their idea on technology and how it has evolved."[1]
Composition
New Born is an electronic/alternative rock song written in the key of E minor. It opens with broken piano chords (arpeggios), until a sustained chord is played, followed by fuzzy guitar which leads into the main part of the song. The song moves at a fairly fast tempo, with the intro playing at 147 bpm, before increasing to 153 bpm. Interestingly, the intro is played a lot faster live, while the rest of the song is generally played slower. Even more interestingly, both parts of the song have decreased in speed over time.
Bellamy's vocal range spans from F♯3 to E5. The outro features sampled vocals.
Additional information
New Born began life as a piece played in sound check on the 2000 tour, while supporting the Foo Fighters, and the piano intro was written afterwards.[2] Matt didn't originally like the name "New Born", instead wanting to call the song either "Strangle" or "Strangulation".[3] During the recording of the album in the David Bottrill sessions, the band experimented with using Bellamy's voice for the intro in place of a piano, but decided that this was too abstract and removed it post-recording.[2] Bellamy attributed this to things sounding better when experiencing the effect of magic mushrooms, which Muse were using during said recording sessions.[2] However, said vocals can be heard at the end of the songs.
On the single the ending (using sampled vocals) fades out gently, unlike the version found on the album Origin of Symmetry.
The song was played very commonly throughout the Origin of Symmetry, Absolution, Black Holes and Revelations and Resistance Tours. It was also played regulary during The 2nd Law Tour in rotation with Stockholm Syndrome. However, it made very rare appearances during the Drones Tour. This makes it the 4th most played Muse song live.
Live
New Born began life as a piece played in sound check on the 2000 tour, while supporting the Foo Fighters, and the piano intro was written afterwards. The song was played very commonly throughout the Origin of Symmetry, Absolution, Black Holes and Revelations and Resistance Tours. It was also played regularly during The 2nd Law Tour in rotation with Stockholm Syndrome, though the latter was played more often. However, it made very rare appearances during the Drones Tour and was not played at all in 2016. It did return in 2017 and 2018, but collectively only for three gigs. This makes it the 4th most played Muse song live.
Lyrics
Link it to the world
Link it to yourself Stretch it like a birth squeeze
The love for what you hide The bitterness inside Is growing like the new born
When you've seen, seen Too much, Too young, young Soulless is everywhere
Hopeless time to roam The distance to your home Fades away to nowhere
How much are you worth? You can't come down to earth You're swelling up You're unstoppable
'Cause you've seen, seen Too much Too young, young Soulless is everywhere
Destroy the spineless Show me it's real Wasting our last chance to come away Just break the silence 'cause I'm drifting away Away from you
Link it to the world Link it to yourself Stretch it like it's a birth squeeze And the love for what you hide And the bitterness inside Is growing like the new born
When you've seen, seen Too much, Too young, young Soulless is everywhere
Destroy the spineless Show me it's real Wasting our last chance To come away Just break the silence 'Cause I'm drifting away Away from you
Oakenfold Perfect Remix
Link it to the world
Link it to yourself Stretch it like a birth squeeze
The love for what you hide The bitterness inside Is growing like the new born
When you've seen, seen Too much, Too young, young Soulless is everywhere
Link it to the world Link it to yourself Stretch it like a birth squeeze
The love for what you hide The bitterness inside Is growing like the new born
When you've seen, seen Too much, When you've seen, seen Too much, Too young, young Soulless is everywhere
Early live version
The first version had[4]
Soulless is breaking me
in place of the last instance of
Soulless is everywhere