United States of Eurasia (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | United States of Eurasia |
| Album/single | The Resistance (4) |
| Length | 5:47,[1] 3:44 (radio edit) |
| Alternative titles | - |
| First live performance | - |
| Latest live performance | Unknown |
| Recorded | Milan, Italy, 2009 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, Christopher Wolstenholme |
| Producer | Muse[2][3] |
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Description
A song featuring stringed instrumentation reminiscent of the Lawrence of Arabia soundtrack by Maurice Jarre[1] and falsetto[1] vocals reminiscent of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen,[4] as well as embodying influence from Frédéric Chopin.[1] "United States of Eurasia" ends with the sound similar to that of a missile launching.[1]
Additional information
The song title was found by Muse fans from a picture on Twitter of Matt holding a score.[5] The name comes from the book "The Grand Chessboard" by Zbigniew Brzeziński, who puts forward the view that Eurasia must be controlled by the USA to secure oil supplies.[3]
In addition, it draws influence from "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell,[3] in which Eurasia arbitrarily changes between ally and enemy of Big Brother country Oceania. This is where the idiom "We have always been at war with Eurasia/Eastasia" came from, typically employed in response to the most obvious political uses of the exposure effect to convince a populace that a ruling figure or party said or did the opposite of that which was in fact actually said or done.
It is presumed by many in the Muse fanbase that the Collateral Damage part of the track may be a short response to United States of Eurasia, written from the point of view of the USA. The logic behind this being that the USA would oppose the unification of Eurasia because the new continent would surpass them as the world superpower, and as a result they would inevitably seek to destroy it or disrupt unification via a false flag attack, which is presumably what the missile at the end of the track is meant to signify. Also the title, Collateral Damage, is possibly referring to how the US military would justify such an attack, as they would see it as a necessary evil to defend their authority. This all ties in to the online viral campaign as the microsite now asks "DOES UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RECOGNISE NEW UNITED STATES OF EURASIA?", presumably confirmation would be taken as a surrender, however rejection would initiate "LOCKDOWN CRISIS LIMITATION MODE" and "THE RESISTANCE WILL BE MOBILISED".
"United States of Eurasia" was the first song released from The Resistance, ultimately being found piece by piece as the result of the Ununited States of Eurasia microsite that was launched alongside the new Official Muse website, from which "Project Eurasia" took place.[6] Promotional copies were sent at such a time as to arrive at radio stations on the 20th of July.[7] The song made its radio debut on BBC Radio 1, that day at 7pm on Zane Lowe's show.[8]
Lyrics
You and me are the same We don't know or care who's to blame But we know that whoever holds the reins Nothing will change Our cause has gone insane And these wars, they can't be won And these wars, they can't be won And do you want them to go on And on and on Why split these states When there can be only one? And must we do as we're told? Must we do as we're told? You and me fall in line To be punished for unproven crimes! And we know that there is no one we can trust; Our ancient heroes, they are turning to dust! And these wars, they can't be won Does anyone know or care how they begun? They just promise to go on And on and on But soon we will see There can be only one United States! United States! Of... Eurasia! ...sia! ...sia! ...sia! Eurasia! ...sia! ...sia! ...sia! Eurasia! ...sia! ...sia! ...sia!
References
- ↑ a b c d e Julien Bordier. (2009-07-0?). Jai ecoute le nouveau Muse. L'Express. Retrieved 2009-07-10 from www.muselive.com. [verify]
- ↑ Samantha Clode. (2009-06-24). Viva la Resistance!. jmag. Retrieved 2009-06-25 from www.muselive.com. [verify]
- ↑ a b c Ray Wilkinson. (2009-07). Progressive stadium rock three dream up album five. Mojo magazine, 1802. Retrieved 2009-07-05 from www.muselive.com. [verify]
- ↑ Dean Chalkley. (2009-07-07). Muse New Album - First Listen. NME magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-08. [verify]
- ↑ Muse. (2009-05-22). New Album Title. Official Muse website. Retrieved 2009-05-22 from muse.mu.
- ↑ Muse Management. (2009-07-08). Ununited States Of Eurasia. Muse. Retrieved 2009-07-13 from muse.mu.
- ↑ Tom Wilson. (2009-07-08). United States of Eurasia - First Single. Muselive. Retrieved 2009-07-08 from www.muselive.com.
- ↑ Tracklisting Monday 20th July (2009-07-20). BBC. Retrieved 2009-07-20 from www.bbc.co.uk.