The Muse are an English rock band and have been quite popular among people who listen to rock music. Uprising is one of the most significant songs by them and it has a great message in it.
Song Meaning and Analysis
Alright, so before I talk about the song and give my explanation, this is what Bellamy had to say about the song.
It’s the first track on the album, it kind of sums up what some of the album’s about. You know, just sick of all these bloody bankers, politicians… just turning everything to a load of bol—ks. Just spending money on s— and blowing everything. So it’s kind of like a song that says, ‘Take the power back, but have a good time at the same time.’ Have a good time all the time, that’s what we believe.
Bellamy in August 2009
In the song you can hear the general feeling that we’ve been let down again by big institutions, which are supposed to be in positions of trust. Politicians obviously and bankers. I’ve got a flat in the center of London, which is right near all the embassies and I noticed protests on a regular basis. During the G20 protests, the UK, got closer to really making a dramatic change, a non violent revolution. I think the UK needs one and I hope it hasn’t died down. Hopefully we can flame it up again.
Bellamy in September 2009
The lead single, ‘Uprising’, was kind of inspired by the G20 protests which took place last year. I was in London at the time and I saw it all going on outside where I live. I sort of found that whole protest quite inspiring really; just the idea that people just having a good time, putting together a peaceful protest but the police still do their best to make it become violent and I find that quite aggravating. So, that’s what the song’s about. There was a whole economic crisis and the MP scandal which took place last year where everyone felt like they were being ripped off by the powers that be. I sort of wanted to write a song that summed up that feeling like you’ve been done over by people you’re supposed to trust. That’s kind of where the song’s coming from really.
Bellamy
The song Uprising to me talks about a really specific thing that a lot of people are not aware of yet, however a growing number of people are somehow slowly starting to realize. I can’t say for sure that this is what Bellamy intended to talk about through his song because this song can have different meanings for different people. He specifically mentions the G20 protests in London in 2009. From what I can infer is that there was an economic recession at the time and the general public was unhappy with the decisions taken in the summit. It seemed that the general public was at a loss and had some of their power taken away from them.
While this is simply an event that had happened in 2009, I find the song relevant in terms of how the situation of the world has been for a very long time. I don’t know if Muse intended to refer to what I am going to explain afterwards but I feel the song really resonates with what I have experienced in the recent years.
Now, people always protest when their demands are not met and when they feel like they have been put at a disadvantage. Over the years especially in recent 2-3 years there have been a lot of protest be it against the l**kdowns, mandatory v***ines, wearing m**ks or travelling restr*ct*ons. There are several agendas that have been going on in the world and a lot of people are understanding how their powers are being stripped away.
The song is more relevant today than it was in 2009, because of the increased control that the govt. has had over the people. There is literally an enormous control over several different aspects of the general population be it their lifestyle, movement, access to public services, even their opinions and mindset.
However, people have started to realize the the lies that have been fed to them and they have now started to protest against it. The number has been growing larger than ever before as more and more people have awakened to this problem. The govt. takes adavantage of the people and the people are too busy to do anything about it because of their personal greed. Also, the media spreads negativity and fear to keep people in that particular vibration because people in fear are very easy to control. The news presents misinformation and fabricated lies while also causing division among people making them fight against each other while the major enemy lurks in the shadows.
When you read the comments on the youtube music video you get an idea of what the song could be talking about. Personally, I feel the song actually transcends time and Muse actually did a great job in spreading the message.
