The Globalist by Muse: A Lyrical Analysis
Muse is an English alternative rock band, well-known for their combination of classical rock elements, hard rock and progressive sounds. The band is made up of drummer, Dominic Howard, bassist, Chris Wolstenholme, and vocalist, pianist and lead guitarist, Matthew Bellamy.
The band has released seven studio albums within their 23-year career span, all of which enjoyed massive success. Matthew is often referred to as a “conspiracy-theory enthusiast”. Muse albums are highly influenced by his perceptions of the world, which are strongly rooted in his view of lacking empathy, love and independent thinkers while being controlled by the invisible higher powers within politics and the world economy.
Muse have remained transparent with the themes of their albums, often including elaborate stage set-ups for their live shows to collaborate with the content of their music.
This can be somewhat predicted by their album-titles, which provides a relatively clear idea of the content within.
Some of the titles include: “Absolution” – which includes a song called “Ruled by Secrecy” – a nod to the Jim Marrs novel, “Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons and the Great Pyramids”; “The Resistance”- inspired by George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel, “1984”; which features a song named after the CIA project, “MK Ultra” and “The 2nd Law” (referring to the 2nd law of thermodynamics) – which further expresses the state of mankind as increasingly diminishing into chaos.
Their 2001 album, “Origin of Symmetry” featured a song titled “Citizen Erased”. The song tells the story of a citizen who has decided to dissolve into nothingness and disappear from a world of turmoil and confusion – choosing to let go of any power being promised to him if he would submit to the “powers that be”.
Fourteen years after the release of Origin of Symmetry (and four albums later), the band announced the approaching release of a brand-new concept album, titled “Drones”. They revealed that a sequel to “Citizen Erased” had been written and would be included on the album.
“Drones” is a concept-album, which follows the story of a protagonist going through a series of events in a world consumed by dictatorship, war and power. Ultimately, it is a story of drone warfare – and how a human being starts to lose compassion, empathy and love by becoming a mindless weapon, controlled by the highest command.
The second-last item on the album and promised follow-up to “Citizen Erased” is a ten-minute masterpiece called “The Globalist”. The song is both connected and disconnected to the journey travelled by the protagonist throughout “Drones”. It is seemingly the result of a different path he/she chose to take.
It feels as though it is the peak of Muse’s narrative. Professing the chaotic and self-destructing state of humanity, while delving into an inclusive story of an individual caught up in this world.
There are three distinguishable segments in the song, all interconnected with the lyrics and the story. The opening section sounds like the introduction to a Quentin Tarantino movie. Drawn-out whistling, a lazy guitar and the sound of falling rain conjure images of a classic Western flick or a post-apocalyptic scene. Thus, the story begins.
THE GLOBALIST
You were never truly loved, you have only been betrayed
The opening line, shows the frame of mind in which the protagonist (for purposes of the analysis, I will call him Kim – it can refer to either male or female, in this analysis he is male.) finds himself. He is lamenting, remembering his childhood and the loveless life he has lived. He feels betrayed and alone.
You were never truly nurtured by churches or the state
Kim now condemns the institutions that were meant to bring him comfort and solace. He reminds himself that he’s never received the love, care and guidance he was promised by institutions like the church and powers of the state.
You were left unprotected to these wild and fragile lands
This line refers to how Kim was left to fend for himself in a world of corruption, war and a constant struggle for power. He is reflecting on how he had nobody to turn to in times of need and no-one to guide or counsel him when he had difficult choices to make. The “wild” and “fragile” lands are the volatile places he found himself in – where he was most vulnerable and where the powerful used him at their will.
But you can rise up like a God
Kim is now looking at the world around him, considering what is left to do in his broken and desolate state. He begins to realise that he too can become someone powerful and that he can reveal himself to the world as a mighty victor instead of a victim. The thought of wielding God-like power is more appealing than being defeated.
Arm yourself, you can be strong
Kim further considers exactly how he will become as strong as he desires. He believes that arming himself with weapons will render him the strongest. He thinks about arming himself until he is strong enough to defend himself from his enemies – and most importantly – strong enough to prevent himself from being heartbroken again. He has seen powerful men arm themselves with weapons armies, money and power; and how people treat them as Gods for it.
You can build a nuclear power
At this stage, Kim determines that Nuclear power will give him the kind of power he needs. Much like a child opening a brand new toy, the idea of having this ultimate power excites him. (Matthews sings it in this tone, articulating the word “power” with a noticeable greed)
Transform the Earth to your desire
His idea of power and control is becoming more tangible. He knows that with the use of Nuclear power, he is able to mould the Earth and its inhabitants as he wants. He can finally create a world that will recognise and respect him, but it will take place in the form of fear, death and ruin.
Free your mind from false beliefs
Kim has decided that by gaining ultimate control, he will free himself from his own “false beliefs” that he is worthless, unloved and unwanted.
You can be the Commander-in-Chief
By acknowledging that he can attain the highest ranking within the world of power, Kim begins to tighten his grip on his own villainous revenge. He is ready to take on the world with the fury that motivates him.
You can hide your true motives to dismantle and destroy
Now, he has come to a point where he will use the methods of those whom he has watched take control before. He will use a hidden agenda and falsify his goal to ultimately destroy everything and everyone.
Now you finally have the codes, I have given you the code
In the final section of the first part of the song, Muse hid a “secret code” in which words are played backward – using lines from each song on “Drones” to create a “code” for Kim’s final plan of action. It reads: Dead Inside, A fucking psycho, the world just disavows, kill by remote control, programmed to obey, I’m a defector, I can see you’re trapped in a maze.
[PART 2]
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Fire
The second part of the song descends into musical chaos as the countdown ends and bombs carried by drones are dropped all over the world at Kim’s command. The hard rock instrumental conveys the feeling of a world being destroyed and a man becoming a tyrant, crushing everything in his path.
As the chaos comes to a slow end, a piano ballad takes place of the hard rock, mellowing into a slow and sombre melody.
[PART 3]
There’s no country left to love and cherish, it’s gone, it’s gone for good
Now that war has been waged and chaos reigns, Kim begins to reflect on what he has done. He realises that everything there was to love and hold dear is gone, never to return. His own country and the countries of millions of people have been erased by his nuclear attack.
It’s you and me, babe. Survivors
This line alludes to Kim having found the love of a partner, whom he now considers his ally in survival. A love that he may have gained once it was too late.
To hunt and gather memories of the great nation we were
He now begins to show signs of remorse, recognising that before he descended the world into chaos – there were aspects of hope for a bigger purpose. Memories worth having that have been lost in despair.
There’s no countries left to fight and conquer, I think I destroyed them all
By saying “I think I destroyed them all”, Kim begins to display a certain disbelief in his own actions. He knows that there is no longer a single nation to fight against for power, but he also realises that he has destroyed more than just unequal power – he has destroyed everything, both good and bad.
Its human nature, the greatest hunter will survive them all
Here, he starts to show signs of denial as he tries to justify his actions. He begins to claim that “survival of the fittest” has governed the world for centuries – determining who will be the ultimate champion by means of survival skills.
With no-one left to love
His justification of “natural selection” is short-lived as he quickly realises that he did not commit his crimes in order to survive. He chose to destroy and conquer to free himself from pain, loneliness and abandonment. He is beginning to understand that these actions left the entire world in the same pain he had so desperately tried to cure, leaving no-one left and no love to share.
There’s no culture left to love and cherish (it’s gone, you know it’s gone for good)
Kim begins to desperately regret what he has done; a deep and empty sorrow takes hold of him as he stands amongst the ruin he has created. He searches but cannot find a shred of the rich and diverse culture that once existed. He struggles to accept that it has been wiped out, more so because he is responsible.
A trillion memories lost in space and time, forevermore
Realising the depth and monumentality of the erasure of the Earth (Matt sings this as though he is in immense pain); Kim faces the consequences of his Nuclear attack. The loss of love, hope, ambition, joy and the memories locked away in the minds of billions of human beings.
I just wanted; I just needed to be loved
Finally, Kim admits that throughout his journey of destruction, all he truly wanted was to be loved. This grieving statement acts as both a defence and an attempt at unapologetically convincing himself that his evil actions were brought about by justifiable reasons. He tries to convey that his sadness and pain manifested in rage and annihilation in his ultimate search for love and acceptance. This left him alone once more.
