Guiding Light (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Guiding Light |
| Album/single |
|
| Length | 4:13[2] |
| Alternative titles | - |
| First live performance | 22nd October 2009 |
| Latest live performance | 13th December 2013 |
| Recorded | Studio Bellini, Lake Como and Milan, Italy, 2009 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, Christopher Wolstenholme |
| Producer | Muse |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States of Eurasia | < | Guiding Light | > | Unnatural Selection |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Holes and Revelations (2006) | < | The Resistance (2009) | > | The 2nd Law (2012) |
[Listen]
Description
Matt said, "This track is about a troubled relationship and is influenced by 1980s cheesy stadium rock! There is a guitar solo with a deliberate screaming harmonic. These types of harmonies have been banned from rock music for at least 18 years, possibly longer."[3] The second song on The Resistance with a guitar solo. The intro is a crossfade from United States of Eurasia (song), featuring the same jetfighter sound. The drums at the start bear a heavy resemblance to "Vienna" by Ultravox
This song is treated as a joke by many online members of the Muse fanbase and is often used in humourous acts. Examples of this included the leaked release of Drones months early, which turned out to be the released songs up until that point and several renditions of Guiding Light afterwards, and the repeated edits to Setlist.fm's statistics for new Muse gigs to include many performances of Guiding Light (sometimes over twenty) and mock titles such as "Supermassive Guiding Light" and "Guiding Light Syndrome".
Recording
According to a video posted by Zane Lowe prior to the release of "The Resistance", Matt said that while recording this song in Milan, the music was so loud that a neighbour came over and began banging on the door. The banging can apparently be heard near the end of the song if the drums are isolated.
In an interview, Dom said that while recording the snare drum in the field of sheep[4], the mics were close to a river so each time he plays the snare drum in the song, the river can be heard along with it.
Guiding Light (On Jeff's Guitar)
| Matthew Bellamy Song | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Guiding Light (On Jeff's Guitar) | |||
| Album/single | Cryosleep | |||
| Length | - | |||
| Alternative titles | - | |||
| First live performance | - | |||
| Latest live performance | - | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy | |||
| Producer | Aleks Von Korff, Matthew Bellamy | |||
| Matthew Bellamy Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take A Bow (Four Hands Piano) | < | Guiding Light (On Jeff's Guitar) | > | |
An upcoming rendition of Guiding Light, played on Jeff Buckley's Telecaster. Announced on 7th of April, 2021[5], it is going to be released as part of Bellamy's own Cryosleep EP, a limited-edition three-song picture disc, which will also feature Take A Bow (Four Hands Piano) and Pray without Game of Thrones voiceover. It's going to be released as part of Record Store Day 2021 on July 16th.
The short EP will be released on a 12" disc combined with a music booklet.
Live
The often-maligned Guiding Light appeared on both The Resistance and The 2nd Law tours. Unlike most other non-singles off of The Resistance, Guiding Light was performed several times on the 2011 tour. Though it was not played particularly often, Guiding Light returned for The Unsustainable Tour in 2013, most likely because it was Matt's girlfriend's at the time, Kate Hudson, favourite Muse song. Fans began to deride Guiding Light even more because of this tour and it has not been performed since, likely due to it being completely different from the theme of the Drones tour.
Lyrics
Pure hearts stumble
In my hands they crumble And fragile and stripped to the core I can't hurt you anymore
Loved by numbers, You're losing life's wonder Touch like strangers; detached I can't feel you anymore
There's sunshine trapped in our hearts It could rise again But I'm lost, and crushed, and cold, and confused With no guiding light left inside
You were my guiding light
When comfort and warmth can't be found I still reach for you But I'm lost, and crushed, and cold, and confused With no guiding light left inside
You're my guiding light You're my guiding light When there's no guiding light left inside When there's no guiding light in our lives
References
- ↑ 5.GUIDING LIGHT (2009-07-03). Twitter. Retrieved 2009-07-03 from twitter.com.
- ↑ Julien Bordier. (2009-07-0?). Jai ecoute le nouveau Muse. L'Express. Retrieved 2009-07-10 from www.muselive.com. [verify]
- ↑ iTunes LP - The Resistance
- ↑ Thomas Kirk. (2009-01-31). MUSE - RECORDING NEW ALBUM. Youtube. Retrieved 2015-04-21 from youtube.com.
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CNX1bzJDChw/