Uno (song)

Muse song
Name	Uno
Album/single	Showbiz Remastered (8) » Showbiz (8), Uno CD, vinyl (1) DE CD (1,4) Muscle Museum EP (3) Sunburn CD2 (3) Hullabaloo DVD (8), JP DVD (9)
Length	3:38, 3:01 (radio edit), 2:53 (2nd radio edit)
Alternative titles	Number 1
First live performance	Unknown
Latest live performance	28th June 2015
Recorded	1999
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy
Producer	John Leckie
Chart position	73

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Unintended	<	Uno	>	Sober

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	<	Showbiz (1999)	>	Origin of Symmetry (2001)

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Description

The first single by Muse, the title means "one" in Spanish. The song deals with throwing away your future or potential. Part of Chris's bass part is identical to a part of a Patti Page song "conquest". One of the most famous songs from Showbiz, making an appearance at nearly every gig in 1999 and most gigs in 2000 and 2001. Uno is still regarded highly among fans years later, often appearing in fan requests for gigs after several Drones tour performances.

According to Matt, the song it's about and ex-girlfriend he had, he also said: "That song's a bit about breaking out. It's a song sort of to ourselves really about wanting to... keep up the vibe - not give in to the pressure to just go to university and get a job. It's like a kick up the arse to carry on with what we're doing."

Information

Originally featured on the Muscle Museum EP.

An alternate version featuring an acoustic guitar is available on the 7" single.

During recording this song for Showbiz an amp blew up. The same happened during the recording of Escape. This was revealed on the Gonzo interview in 2003.

Live

A live favourite, the song was the stable opener during 1999-2000 gigs. There are no known performances prior to December 1998 although it is entirely possible that the song was played before this. Based on current estimates, the song was likely premiered sometime in early 1998. Nearly all known performances from 1999 include this song, likely as it was the band's first single. Starting with November 1999 was commonly introduced with a "Whammy Jam" during this time period when played as an opener. This was used until at least March 2000.

After 1999, the bass outro was commonly played by Bellamy instead of the usual guitar outro. This would be common until 2002. For the first half of 2001 the song was usually on rotation in the first three songs played, alongside New Born and Micro Cuts. During at least one gig (La Cigale) the song was introduced as "You Could Have Been Number One". After Origin of Symmetry was released it was rarely played, although it would still make the occasional appearance. The following year it was only played during the first few months and just once in 2003. After almost 12 years without being played live, the song was played again on 15th March 2015 , during the first gig of the Psycho UK Tour .

Throughout The Resistance Tour's "choose the setlist" gimmick, Uno would commonly be selected as one of the songs fans wanted to hear. Despite this, it was never played, like many songs that topped the polls.

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Interpretation

Uno could be about the same person as Hyper Music and Hate This & I'll Love You; Someone who was associated with the band before they made it, whom Bellamy had reason to dislike (on a similar theme Sunburn seems to be about a girl who was associated with them, who in contrast Bellamy regrets having to leave behind, because he sees her as a star).

Lyrics

This means nothing to me

'cause you are nothing to me And it means nothing to me That you blew this away

'cause you could've been number one If you only found the time And you could've ruled the whole world If you had the chance

You could've been number one And you could've ruled the whole world And we could've had so much fun But you blew it away

You're still nothing to me And this is nothing to me And you don't know what you've done But I'll give you a clue

You could've been number one If you only had the chance And you could've ruled the whole world If you had the time

You could've been number one And you could've ruled the whole world And we could've had so much fun But you blew it away

You could've been number one And you could've ruled the whole world And we could've had so much fun But you blew it away

Quotes

• At the time I wrote this, we hadn't played a gig for months. This song is almost a threat to myself, that I shouldn't give up music because I might regret it for the rest of my life.
  Matt describing the thoughts behind Uno's conception, 03/??/2000

References

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