The Small Print (song)

Muse song
Name	The Small Print
Album/single	Absolution (11) » Absolution Sampler Vinyl (4) Sing for Absolution BX CD3 (4) Absolution Tour (14)
Length	3:28
Alternative titles	Action Faust, TSP
First live performance	26th May 2002
Latest live performance	7th May 2005
Recorded	Air Studios, London, 2003
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy
Producer	Rich Costey

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Butterflies & Hurricanes	<	The Small Print	>	Fury (bonus track)

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Hullabaloo (2002)	<	Absolution (2003)	>	Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

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Description

A simple metal come heavy rock song.

Additional information

This is the cat that appears in the song as seen in "The Making of Absolution"

Chosen ahead of "Fury" in the final track listing for Absolution. It was a live favourite from the 2002 tour up to and including the 2005 tour. Matt mentioned in an interview that he wanted Fury instead of The Small Print but the band had a vote and Matt was outnumbered 2-to-1 by Chris and Dom.

Together with Hysteria, The Small Print was the first song written for the album Absolution.

While initially played before Absolution's release, it went by the name 'Action Faust.' The song can be understood as, clearly alluding to Goethe's Faust, being sung from the point of view of the Devil to someone selling their soul to him in exchange for, presumably, musical prowess and fame. It shows the transaction as ultimately manipulative on the part of the Devil, dooming the recipient to be a "slave to the grave" and robbing him of all memories of "the good days". The Devil's identity can be seen in the line "I'm a priest God never paid"; he is able to mediate supernatural power but does so outside of the service of God. The final title "The Small Print" yet again underlies the motif of a dishonest contract between a Devil and Faustian figure.

In late April 2015, it was revealed in an interview that the band were rehearsing this and Apocalypse Please for the upcoming tour. However, while Apocalypse Please was played, The Small Print wasn't played during the Drones Tour.

Live

The Small Print was one of the first songs from the Absolution era to be performed live. Of all Absolution-era songs debuted in 2002, The Small Print was performed the most often and has the most amount of available footage. The early version, known at the time by the acronym "TSP" or "The Smallprint", had an extended post-verse section, different lyrics, and a different solo. While performed very often in 2002, it was performed significantly less in 2003.

More here

Trivia

At 2:51, a cat can be heard meowing.

Lyrics

Take, take all you need

And I'll compensate your greed With broken hearts Sell, I'll sell your memories For 15 pounds per year But just the good days

Say, it'll make you insane And it's bending the truth You're to blame For all the life that you'll lose and You watch this space And I'm going all the way And be my slave to the grave I'm a priest God never paid

Hope, I hope you've seen the light 'cause no one really cares They're just pretending Sell, and I'll sell your memories For 15 pounds per year But you can keep the bad days

Say, it'll make you insane And I'm bending the truth You're to blame For all the life that you'll lose and You watch this space And I'm going all the way And be my slave to the grave I'm a priest God never paid

Say, it'll make you insane And I'm bending the truth You're to blame For all the life that you'll lose and You watch this space And I'm going all the way And be my slave to the grave I'm a priest God never paid

Early Live Lyrics

Take, take all you need / Take all you need

And I'll compensate your greed / I'll compensate your greed With broken hearts Sell, and I'll sell your memories / I'll sell your memory At 15 pounds per year / At 15 laughs per year But I'll keep the good days

Say, it'll make you insane / Hey, I'll take you away And I'm breaking the rules / I'm breaking your rules You're to blame For all the life you're losing / For all the love you're failing You watch this space And I'm going all the way And I'm not your slave to the grave / I'm not your slave to the grave I'm the priest God never paid / I'm your (?) reality

Hope, and I hope you've seen the light 'cause no one really cares They're just pretending Sell, and I'll sell your memories / Well, I'm selling memories At 15 pounds per year But I'll keep the good days

Say, it'll make you insane / Hey, I'll take you away And I'm breaking your rules / I'm breaking the rules You're to blame For all the life you'll lose and / For all the love you're losing You watch this space / You watch your space And I'm going all the way / I'm going all the way And I'm not your slave to the grave / I'm not your slave to the grave I'm the priest God never paid / I'm your (?) reality

Say, it'll make you insane / Hey, I'll make you insane And I'm breaking your rules / I'm breaking your rules You're to blame For all the life that you'll lose and / For all the life you're losing You watch this space / You watch your space Yeah I'm going all the way / I'm going all the way And I'm not your slave to the grave / I'm not your slave to the grave I'm the priest God never paid / I'm the peace you never felt

The Small Print was played quite a lot in 2002, and the lyrics could slightly change with any given performance.

References

Go back to Absolution