Meaning of Uprising by Muse & The Story Behind

Matthew Bellamy said that while working on the lyrics for the album The Resistance, the musicians of the Muse group were inspired by the dystopian novel “1984” by George Orwell.

For the main single, they chose a track with a telling name Uprising . By doing this, they made it clear to the audience that they were not satisfied with the socio-political situation that has developed in the modern world.

The story of creation & the meaning of the song Uprising by Muse

Matt Bellamy often talked about this composition in interviews. He recalled what events prompted him to compose the song.

Let’s quote the author:

The lead single, Uprising, was partly inspired by the protests against the G20 summit that took place last year. I was then in London and saw what happened on the streets where I lived. […]
I was really inspired by all these protests, the whole idea that people are just having a good time, going to a peaceful protest, but the police, nevertheless, are doing everything possible to cause violence. I found this annoying. So the song is about that. […]
I wanted to write a song that would summarize that feeling of being hurt by people you are supposed to trust.

MTV September 2009

Another excerpt from the interview where Matt Bellamy talks about his musical inspirations and what Uprising is about:

This song was influenced by glam rock, 1980s synth-pop, uprisings and eccentric protesters during the last G20 summit. She expresses a general distrust of bankers, global corporations and politicians.

iTunes LP – The Resistance

Chris Wolstenholme of Muse also shared his thoughts on the meaning of Uprising:

I think the song is about a huge distrust of people in power, be it the government or the bankers. We live in a society where we are told to be quiet, to just accept things as they are.

FHM

According to Bellamy, the song plays a major role in The Resistance:

This is the first track of the album. He seems to make it clear what part of the album is about. You know, just sick of all those damn bankers, politicians. […] The song is like saying, “Take back the power, but at the same time have a good time.” Always have a good time – that’s what we believe in.

MTV News

Recording and release of Uprising

Matt Bellamy recalled how they worked on the song Uprising and the album The Resistance:

It seems to me that we have significantly moved away from what we did in the past. We have experienced many different styles of music, many of these styles of music we have never tried before.
We’re the producers ourselves, so I think it ends up sounding very, very personal. It also made us feel very comfortable experimenting with different ideas.

MTV 2009

Muse fans expected that the band would release the track United States of Eurasia as the first single from the album The Resistance, but the musicians preferred The Uprising. The release took place on August 4, 2009.

The song topped the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart and peaked at number two on the Billboard Rock Chart. In the hot hundred, she stopped at thirty-seventh line. The Uprising also charted in many countries.

Video Meaning of Uprising by Muse

The music video for the song was directed by the American band Hydra. It premiered on MTV in September 2009.

At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, the video won in the category “Best Special Effects”, and in the category “Best Rock Video” it lost to the track Kings and Queens by the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Let’s watch the video clip of Uprising by Muse.

Cover versions

The Veronicas performed Unprising on BBC Radio 1.

Interesting Facts

Some music critics have noted the similarity of the guitar part in Uprising to the riff from Blondie’s Call Me.
The song was also compared to the main theme song of the popular TV show Doctor Who.
Uprising was featured in the trailer for the movie Knight & Day and commercials on Animal Planet.

Uprising Lyrics by Muse

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
Transmissions will resume
They’ll try to push drugs
That keep us all dumbed down and hope that
We will never see the truth around
(so come on)

Another promise, another scene
Another package lie to keep us trapped in greed
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(so come on)

chorus:
They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They won’t control us
We will be victorious
(so come on)

Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution take its toll if you could
Flick a switch and open your third eye, you’d see that
We should never be afraid to die
(so come on)

Rise up and take the power back, it’s time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
(so come on)

Chorus x2

Lyrics: MATT BELLAMY, MATTHEW JAMES BELLAMY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics of Uprising by Muse Alternate

Paranoia in full bloom. PR
Broadcasts will resume
They will try to push the drugs
Which will make everyone stupid, in the hope
That we will never understand what is happening around.
(So come on!)

Another promise, another performance
Another package of lies to trap us with greed.
Our minds are wrapped in these green belts
And endless bureaucracy keeps the truth locked up.
(So come on!)

Chorus:
They won’t force us
They will stop humiliating us
They won’t control us
We will celebrate the victory.
(So come on!)

Mind control is constantly changing.
Let the revolution take over. If you can,
Flick the switch and open your third eye. You will understand that
We should not be afraid of death.
(So come on!)

Rise up and take back your power. Now is the time
Moneybags get a heart attack. You know,
That their time is coming to an end.
We must unite and see our flag go up.
(So come on!)

Chorus x2

This may be a reference to the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Song quote

In the song, you can catch the feeling that we were again let down by large organizations, which, in theory, we should trust. Obviously, these are politicians and bankers.

Matt Bellamy, The Sun, 2009