Verona (song)

Muse song
Name	Verona
Album/single	Will of the People (8)
Length	4:57
Alternative titles
First live performance	25th February 2023
Latest live performance	22nd July 2023
Recorded	2021
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy
Producer	Muse
Chart position

Song Nav
Kill or Be Killed	<	Verona	>	Euphoria

Album Nav
Simulation Theory (2018)	<	Will of the People (2022)	>

Description

An 80s-influenced song, 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. The song itself was leaked with the rest of the album on August 23rd, 2022.

Warner's album recap mentions, that Verona includes "nostalgic" electronic textures, which bring "innocence" and "purity" to the album. Additionally, when Aleks Von Korff was "describing" the last five songs on his Instagram story through hand emojis, he used the heart symbol hands for this song, hinting at Verona being a love song. It's descibred by Riff Magazine as an "atmospheric synth-heavy mid-tempo ballad that builds as it develops". Gigwise compared the song to The Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition", mentioning it being a candid love song and having sparse guitar.. A mellow vibe and dreamy synth elements within the song are also being compared to Stranger Things theme sequence and Coldplay's Ghost Stories by some fans.

Being a song written about love during the pandemic, the name "Verona" was likely inspired by a combination of two things; Verona is a city in Italy, where Romeo & Juliet take place, while "The 'Rona" is a word, by which some people refer to the Covid-19/Corona virus.

Instrumentation

Another synth-heavy song, similar to songs from the Simulation Theory and the The 2nd Law eras, like “Follow Me” and “Madness”, using synths and ‘U2 esque’ riffs, the song starts out with a mellow synth arpeggio, which slowly evolves, adding more layers of synth arpeggios over it. The song only features synth and vocals until a U2-inspired guitar line joins in at around a minute and a half. Drums are finally brought in at around two and a half minutes, featuring roto-tom fills. For the outro, the song mellows out again to just the synth arpeggio, with a guitar playing soft lines over it.

The second song off of Will of the People which uses Jeff Buckley's Telecaster, and perhaps features it the most prominently.

Live

Matt first hinted at Verona debuting live on the Will of the People World Tour in a Q&A session on Twitter in 2022. This finally happened on the first gig of the second (U.S.) leg of the tour, on February 25th, 2023, in Chicago's United Center.

More here.

Lyrics

Can we kiss

With poison on our lips Well I'm not scared

Can we touch and taste forbidden bliss They can't stop us now, I won't let you be alone I am coming for you Keep us apart, it's too much to ask

We're running away Take off your clothes and take off your mask It's not over now, I won't leave you in the dark Because I need you so

Can we kiss, contagion on our lips Well I don't care We can touch and feel forbidden bliss They can't stop us now, I won't let you feel alone Because I need you so

You and me Throw caution to the wind And I will risk everything just to feel the warmth and the voltage of your skin If this is my last day on earth, I just want to be with you You are all that's true

We will kiss, with poison on our lips Well I'm not scared We will touch and reach forbidden bliss They can't stop us now, I won't let you die alone

Because I love you so