Behind The Songs: Take A Bow

Hey everyone!

I found out that if you talk with someone about 'Take A Bow', everyone thinks you mean Take A Bow from Rihanna. And I haven't met any non-Muser (yet) who knew that Muse also made a song that's called Take A Bow, long before Rihanna did. So, that's why this Behind The Songs post is about Take A Bow, the first song on the Black Holes And Revelations album. 


About Take A Bow

Take a Bow calls on world leaders to take responsibility for their actions. Muse move through three musical stages: starting off as a classical piece before moving into a techno mid-section and a heavy "apocalyptic rock" ending. Initially described "a looping epic which morphs into a gothic fairytale".

Initially called "Hex", "Take a Bow" was originally going to be at the end of the album. Two months later, Chris indicated it could become the opening track. Put first on the album because it ends in the key of B which is the key of the second track. .

Matt said in a German Interview that: "The first song "Take A Bow", is about the feeling of the little man who lost control of anything and now wants to take revenge on authority".

Wolstenholme: We wrote it at the end of the Absolution sessions, and it sounds similar [to Absolution tracks]. It has evolved a lot since then, but it’s principle remains the same: a change of periodic agreements which are at the brink of exploding. Its structure is mathematical, the main idea being a formula with neither chorus nor verse. Dom’s never played like that, with very jazzy rhythms, slow ones, followed by more chaotic bits integrated into the whole.

Take a Bow was often played as a piano interlude between Citizen Erased and Space Dementia on the Absolution tour, as well as an intro to Feeling Good on The Resistance Tour.

Take a Bow is written in 3/4 time and moves at a tempo of 130 bpm. Bellamy's vocal range in the song spans from C3 to G4 in the modal register, and up to F♯5 in falsetto; one of the wider vocal ranges in a Muse song.

My Opinion

Black Holes And Revelations is my favourite Muse album, mostly because I just love the science-fiction/Mars/alien/conspiracy-theory sound the album has, and Take A Bow is a very good example of that sound. It's also pretty electronic, and it reminds me of the band Editors -you might know them from one of my previous playlists. The lyrics are also pretty awesome: it really tells a story, which I think is very well done. 

Lyrics:

Corrupt
You corrupt
And bring corruption to all that you touch

Hold
You'll behold
And beholden for all that you've done

Spell
Cast a spell
Cast a spell on the country you run

And risk
You will risk
You will risk all their lives and their souls

And burn
You will burn
You will burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell for your sins

Oh, our freedom's consuming itself
What we've become
Is contrary to what we want
Take a bow

Death
You bring death
And destruction to all that you touch

Pay
You must pay
You must pay for your crimes against the earth

Hex
Feed the hex
Feed the hex on the country you love

And beg
You will beg
You will beg for their lives and their souls

Yeah, and burn
You will burn
You will burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell
Yeah you'll burn in hell for your sins

Music Video:

I'm having some problems with posting YouTube video's, so I'll give you the link. I'll edit the post when the problem is solved. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQXit0vly2I

Have fun watching (:

 - Gasoline Diamond -

Special Thanks to Musewiki.org

PS: Take A Bow is also a soundtrack in the movie 'Watchmen', just like Helena (So Long & Goodnight) from My Chemical Romance.