Difference between revisions of "Will of the People (song)"

Latest revision as of 11:02, 20 March 2023

Muse song
Name	Will of the People^[1]
Album/single	Will of the People (1) » Will of the People (single) (1)
Length	3:18
Alternative titles
First live performance	4th June 2022
Latest live performance
Recorded	2021
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy
Producer	Muse, Aleks Von Korff
Chart position

Song Nav

<

Will of the People

>

Compliance

Album Nav

Simulation Theory (2018)

<

Will of the People (2022)

>

Listen

Description

Title track off of the album Will of the People. The song's name has been "officially" leaked on March 14th, 2022 via the JSON output from wontstanddown.muse.mu, which contains basic album info. In late May of 2022, Apple Music began showing the track length of the song in the album playlist, while Amazon set up a release date of June the 1st. The song itself got leaked on May 26th, 2022, while the official release date of the single, being June 1st, was announced a day later.

Will Of The People has previously been teased by Muse through a couple of short clips, on YouTube and Instagram, revealing the album's name. Upon the album announcement, Warner described it as a track that "brings playful provocation to a dystopian glam-rocker"^[2]

According to Matt, the song is "like a populist parody, almost the antithesis to Uprising", adding "Whereas ‘Uprising’ was almost populist but taking it seriously, ‘Will Of The People’ is almost, ‘Do we know that we’re stupid now? Do we know how silly this sounds and looks?’ Inside of me, there’s always been this little bit of a conflict between the desire for direct democracy and a bit more actual power to the people, but then at the same time realising that sometimes the people can be mad… Because they’ve had no voice for so long, populism ends up becoming distorted and strange and spiting everything. People end up spiting things just because they don’t have any fucking say.".^[3]

Instrumentation

The track starts out with a looping crowd, chanting the line "The Will of the People". The same loop appears throughout the song. The track itself is based around guitar, bass and drums, with some guitar-synth layering, which is especially noticeable during the last part. The song also features heavy use of roto-toms during the bridge part. It also features a lot of "ooh"s and "woah"s throughout the song, aswel as a high-pitched scream, at around 2 minutes and 42 seconds. The choir consists of around 150 audio tracks, all of which were put together in remote, due to all the lockdowns throughout the pandemic.^[4]

Stylistically, the song is reminiscent of songs such as Uprising, Psycho and Supermassive Black Hole, featuring a similar swing-rhythm and elements of glam-rock and a punchy 50s Elvis rockabilly. The looping choir has been compared to "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson and the songs structure has been compared to that of Green Day, sounding like 'East Jesus Nowhere'. It's also been compared to Pressure and New Kind of Kick, having the same "rock'n'roll" feel with the saturated vocals. The song runs in A-Major and at a tempo of 130BPM.

The rough layout of the riff, which appears in the pre-chorus of the song, extends all the way back to 2019, when it was played by Matt as an improv riff after Unsustainable, during the Simulation Theory Tour.

Will of the People is one of three songs on the album to feature Jeff Buckley's Telecaster. It is used for the high bluesy leads during the choruses.

Music Video

Like the song itself, the music video was also used in the teaser, following the album reveal in March of 2022. The video itself tells the story of how the heads got torn down during a riot, which can be seen on the album artwork.

More here.

Trivia

Following the release of the music video, Muse posted the official lyrics under the YouTube video, but similar to other lyrical mistakes in the past (such as the various misprints in the Origin of Symmetry sleeve notes), the official lyrics contain two errors. As confirmed by Aleks Von Korff on Reddit, a line from the first verse is written as “Don't need a goon to flood with devotion”, when Matt sings ”Don't need a gun to flirt with devotion”^[5], while a line from the second verse, written as “We’re gonna smash this nation to pieces” is in fact “your nation”.

The chants/crowd vocals are not only sung by Matt Bellamy. Instead, they are sung by the entire band, together with Elle, Bing Bellamy, Chris's wife Caris and his kids, Ernie, Buster, Teddi, Tabitha and Indiana.

Live

Performed live as an intro to the shows, it features a slightly extended guitar chugging intro. It was first performed live on June 4th, 2022.

More here.

Lyrics

Official lyrics as posted by Muse, however these lyrics do contain errors as noted above.

The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
Let’s push the emperors into the ocean, Don’t need a goon to flood with devotion, With every hour our number increases We’ll smash your institutions to pieces
We need a transformation One we all can see We need a revolution So long as we stay free
Welcome to the desecration baby We’ll build you right up then we’ll tear you down Welcome to the celebration baby The judges are jailed and the future is ours
Free your sons and unlock your daughters We’ll throw the baby out with the bath water With every second our anger increases We’re gonna smash this nation to pieces
We need a transmutation One we all conceive We need a revolution So long as we stay free
Welcome to the desecration baby We’ll build you right up then we’ll tear you down Welcome to the celebration baby The judges are jailed and the future is ours
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the sheeple, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
Welcome to the desecration, baby We'll build up you right up and we'll tear you down Welcome to the celebration, baby The judges are jailed and the future is ours

References

[1] ttps://wontstanddown.muse.mu/api/v1/catalogue/new/

[2] ttps://themusicuniverse.com/muse-announces-will-people/

[3] ttps://www.nme.com/big-reads/muse-cover-interview-2022-will-of-the-people-3243209

[4] ttps://www.instagram.com/p/CeRBJolg96L/

[5] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/v3wydc/are_these_the_real_lyrics_or_did_apple_music/ib2fui1/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |[[Will of the People (single)|Will of the People]] <small>''(single)'' (1)</small>
 }}
-| First =
+| First = [[Nürburg Nürburgring 2022 (gig)|4{{supo|th}} June 2022]]
 | Latest =
 | Length = 3:18
 | AltTitles =
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 | Current = [[Will of the People (album) | Will of the People ''(2022)'']]
 }}
+'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MClg7zpm6VQ Listen]'''
 == Description ==
@@ Line 33: / Line 35: @@
 Will Of The People has previously been teased by Muse through a couple of short clips, on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzHnwHzp9o4 YouTube] and [https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/ Instagram], revealing the album's name. Upon the album announcement, Warner described it as a track that "''brings playful provocation to a dystopian glam-rocker''"<ref>https://themusicuniverse.com/muse-announces-will-people/</ref>
-In the words of Matt Bellamy, "''"Will of the People" is fictional story set in a fictional metaverse on a fictional planet ruled by a fictional authoritarian state run by a fictional algorithm manifested by a fictional data centre running a fictional bank printing a fictional currency controlling a fictional population occupying a fictional city containing a fictional apartment where a fictional man woke up one day and thought "fuck this."''"<ref>https://www.muse.mu/news/will-people-322606</ref>
+According to Matt, the song is "''like a populist parody, almost the antithesis to [[Uprising (song)|Uprising]]''", adding "''Whereas ‘Uprising’ was almost populist but taking it seriously, ‘Will Of The People’ is almost, ‘Do we know that we’re stupid now? Do we know how silly this sounds and looks?’ Inside of me, there’s always been this little bit of a conflict between the desire for direct democracy and a bit more actual power to the people, but then at the same time realising that sometimes the people can be mad… Because they’ve had no voice for so long, populism ends up becoming distorted and strange and spiting everything. People end up spiting things just because they don’t have any fucking say.''".<ref>https://www.nme.com/big-reads/muse-cover-interview-2022-will-of-the-people-3243209</ref>
 == Instrumentation ==
-The track starts out with a looping choir, built up of layers of chanting the line "The Will of the People". The same loop appears throughout the song. The track itself is based around guitar, bass and drums, with some guitar-synth layering, which is especially noticeable during the last part. The song also features heavy use of roto-toms during the bridge part. It also features a lot of "ooh"s and "woah"s throughout the song, aswel as a high-pitched scream, at around 2 minutes and 42 seconds. The choir consists of around 150 audio tracks, all of which were put together in remote, due to all the lockdowns throughout the pandemic.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CeRBJolg96L/</ref>
+The track starts out with a looping crowd, chanting the line "The Will of the People". The same loop appears throughout the song. The track itself is based around guitar, bass and drums, with some guitar-synth layering, which is especially noticeable during the last part. The song also features heavy use of roto-toms during the bridge part. It also features a lot of "ooh"s and "woah"s throughout the song, aswel as a high-pitched scream, at around 2 minutes and 42 seconds. The choir consists of around 150 audio tracks, all of which were put together in remote, due to all the lockdowns throughout the pandemic.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CeRBJolg96L/</ref>
-Stylistically, the song is reminiscent of songs such as [[Uprising (song)|Uprising]], [[Psycho (song)|Psycho]] and [[Supermassive Black Hole (song)|Supermassive Black Hole]], featuring a similar swing-rhythm and elements of glam-rock. The looping choir has been compared to "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson and the songs structure has been compared to that of Green Day. It's also been compared to [[Pressure (song)|Pressure]] and [[New Kind of Kick (song)|New Kind of Kick]], having the same "rock'n'roll" feel with the saturated vocals. The song runs in A-Major and at a tempo of 130BPM.
+Stylistically, the song is reminiscent of songs such as [[Uprising (song)|Uprising]], [[Psycho (song)|Psycho]] and [[Supermassive Black Hole (song)|Supermassive Black Hole]], featuring a similar swing-rhythm and elements of glam-rock and a punchy 50s Elvis rockabilly. The looping choir has been compared to "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson and the songs structure has been compared to that of Green Day, sounding like 'East Jesus Nowhere'. It's also been compared to [[Pressure (song)|Pressure]] and [[New Kind of Kick (song)|New Kind of Kick]], having the same "rock'n'roll" feel with the saturated vocals. The song runs in A-Major and at a tempo of 130BPM.
 The rough layout of the [[Riffs_and_jams#Early_Will_of_the_People|riff, which appears in the pre-chorus of the song]], extends all the way back to 2019, when it was played by Matt as an improv riff after [[Unsustainable (song)|Unsustainable]], during the [[Simulation Theory World Tour|Simulation Theory Tour]].
+Will of the People is one of three songs on the album to feature [[Fender '83 "Jeff Buckley" Telecaster|Jeff Buckley's Telecaster]]. It is used for the high bluesy leads during the choruses.
 == Music Video ==
@@ Line 50: / Line 54: @@
 == Trivia ==
-Following the release of the music video, Muse posted the official lyrics under the YouTube video, but similar to other lyrical mistakes in the past (such as the various misprints in the Origin of Symmetry sleeve notes), the official lyrics contain an error. A line from the second verse is listed as “we’re gonna smash this nation to pieces” when it’s in fact “your nation”.
+Following the release of the music video, Muse posted the official lyrics under the YouTube video, but similar to other lyrical mistakes in the past (such as the various misprints in the Origin of Symmetry sleeve notes), the official lyrics contain two errors. As confirmed by Aleks Von Korff on Reddit, a line from the first verse is written as “''Don't need a goon to flood with devotion''”, when Matt sings ”''Don't need a gun to flirt with devotion''”<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/v3wydc/are_these_the_real_lyrics_or_did_apple_music/ib2fui1/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref>, while a line from the second verse, written as “''We’re gonna smash this nation to pieces''” is in fact “''your nation''”.
+The chants/crowd vocals are not only sung by Matt Bellamy. Instead, they are sung by the entire band, together with Elle, Bing Bellamy, Chris's wife Caris and his kids, Ernie, Buster, Teddi, Tabitha and Indiana.
 == Live ==
@@ Line 59: / Line 66: @@
 == Lyrics ==
+<small>Official lyrics as posted by Muse, however these lyrics do contain errors as noted above.</small>
 {{lyrics
 |The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
@@ Line 69: / Line 76: @@
 The will of the people, the will of the people, the will of the will of
-Let's push the emperors into the ocean
+Let’s push the emperors into the ocean,
-Don't need a goon to flood with devotion
+Don’t need a goon to flood with devotion,
 With every hour our number increases
-We'll smash your institutions to pieces
+We’ll smash your institutions to pieces
 We need a transformation
 One we all can see
 We need a revolution
 So long as we stay free
-Welcome to the desecration, baby
+Welcome to the desecration baby
-We'll build up you right up and we'll tear you down
+We’ll build you right up then we’ll tear you down
-Welcome to the celebration, baby
+Welcome to the celebration baby
 The judges are jailed and the future is ours
 Free your sons and unlock your daughters
-We'll throw the baby out with the bath water
+We’ll throw the baby out with the bath water
 With every second our anger increases
-We're gonna smash your nation to pieces
+We’re gonna smash this nation to pieces
 We need a transmutation
 One we all conceive
 We need a revolution
 So long as we stay free
-Welcome to the desecration, baby
+Welcome to the desecration baby
-We'll build up you right up and we'll tear you down
+We’ll build you right up then we’ll tear you down
-Welcome to the celebration, baby
+Welcome to the celebration baby
 The judges are jailed and the future is ours