The Globalist (song)
{{Short description|2015 song by Muse}}
{{Infobox song
| name = The Globalist
| cover = Muse - The Globalist cover art.jpg
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Muse
| album = Drones
| released = {{Start date|2015|06|18|df=yes}}
| recorded =
| studio = The Warehouse Studio
(Vancouver, British Columbia){{cite AV media notes|title=Drones|others=Muse|year=2015|type=album liner notes|publisher=Warner Bros. Records / Helium-3}}
| venue =
| genre = {{flatlist|
- Symphonic rock
- new prog
- {{nowrap|progressive metal}}
- art rock
}}
| length = {{Duration|m=10|s=07}}
| label = {{flatlist|
}}
| composer = {{flatlist|
}}
| lyricist = Matthew Bellamy
| producer = {{flatlist|
}}
}}
"The Globalist" is a song by English rock band Muse, and the eleventh track from the band's seventh studio album, Drones. An apocalyptic song, it serves as a sequel to the song "Citizen Erased" from their 2001 album Origin of Symmetry.{{cite web|title=MUSE DISCUSS 'PROG NIGHTMARE' SEQUEL TO 'CITIZEN ERASED'|publisher= Gigwise|author= Andrew Trendell| url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/99272/muse-drones-album-to-feature-citizen-erased-sequel-the-globalist|date=27 March 2015 |language= English|accessdate=23 August 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823165046/http://www.gigwise.com/news/99272/muse-drones-album-to-feature-citizen-erased-sequel-the-globalist|archivedate= 23 August 2016}} Part of this song contains music based on "Nimrod" from Enigma Variations, composed by Edward Elgar. The song follows "Aftermath", which centers on the album's protagonist discovering love. Matt Bellamy has said that the album's negative stories, "The Globalist" and "Drones", together serve as an epilogue. At ten minutes and seven seconds, it is the second longest song in Muse's discography, after "Exogenesis: Symphony".{{cite web|last=Leahey |first=Andrew |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1636853 |title=The Resistance - Muse |publisher=AllMusic |date=2009-09-14 |accessdate=2017-09-26}}
Concept
"The Globalist" tells the story of the protagonist's decision to become a dictator intent on destroying everything and everyone by using drones. The song is divided into three parts. The first part details the protagonist's origin, as he begins to revolt against the system that didn't raise him with love and made him want to "transform the Earth to his desire". After the protagonist receives a code, which Muse word-for-word had hid in the song{{clarify|date=August 2016}}, he began World War Three. A backwards code has fragments from the first seven songs on the album and consists of the lines:
- Dead inside
- A fucking psycho (from "Psycho")
- The world just disavows (from "Mercy")
- Kill by remote control (from "Reapers")
- Programmed to obey (from "The Handler")
- I'm a Defector (from "Defector")
- Our freedom's just a loan (from "Revolt")
In the second part, the protagonist becomes insane and destroys the world via nuclear weapons transferred through drones. The third part of "The Globalist" deals with the aftermath of the protagonist's decision, as he bemoans there is "nothing left to love".{{cite interview|title= INTERVIEW: Muse on their new album, Drones |interviewer = John Kennedy| url=http://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/muse/albums/drones/#0YmFY8GxU4xGV2i2.97 |work =X-Posure |publisher = Radio X |location =London|date=23 December 2015 |language= English|accessdate=8 April 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409110840/http://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/muse/albums/drones/|archivedate= 9 April 2016}}{{cite interview|title=Muse Interview |url= http://www.rds.it/rds-tv/interviste/muse/ |work =RDS (Italy) |date=3 June 2016|language= English |accessdate=8 April 2016}}{{cite interview|title=Muse Interview |interviewer =Steve Lamacq|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05x8g0x |work =BBC Radio 6 |date=3 June 2016 |language= English|accessdate=8 April 2016}}
Reception
"The Globalist" received mixed reviews. Rolling Stone described the song as "a grand hymn of despair with a hot jam in the center", praising the song's message.{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/muse-drones-20150609 |title= Muse: Drones |publisher=Rolling Stone |accessdate=30 August 2016 |last=Fricke |first=David |date= 9 June 2015 |authorlink=David Fricke}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Muse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Globalist Song}}
Category:Popular songs based on classical music
Category:Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Category:Songs about nuclear war and weapons