Annotations for The Globalist

Lyric: [Instrumental Intro]
Annotation:
The nearly 3 minute long Intro can be split into multiple parts: Part 1 is just Matthew Bellamy (Singer, Guitarist and Pianist) whistling with some guitar notes and rain fx in the background, after that happens, Chris Wolstenholme (Bassist, Occasional Guitarist & Backing Vocalist) enters the mix with an Acoustic Guitar (Electric Guitar live), before a synth bass (played by Morgan Nicolas live, as this song hasn’t been played since 2017, and Morgan Nicolas stopped touring with them after 2019) enters with the first verse.

Lyric: [Instrumental]
Annotation:
The heavy jam goes into full overdrive here, before going all soft, leading nicely into the next part of the song Also as a fun fact, on April 14th, 2016, when Muse were doing a show in the O2 Arena in London, a blimp, apparently nicknamed the “dildrone” by some, crashed into the crowd during the solo, no-one was harmed and you can see footage  here. (P.S: It also happened at a Toronto show in January that year.)

Lyric: [Part II]
Annotation:
During live performances, Chris and Dom would play a short bass and drum riff know as Munich Jam as a break between songs. Fun fact, Munich Jam was originally meant to be the heavy part of this song but was later changed.

Lyric: Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
 Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
 Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
 Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
Annotation:
This soft singing in the background suggests a happy ending, completely juxtaposing the fact that the world is destroyed. It maybe suggests the power of the nation, overcoming all odds and eventually being the last one standing, literally.

Lyric: Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh
 Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Annotation:
These faint shouts then lead to faint claps as well that give the impression of boots marching and storming into action. This with the drumming and build up of their voices also express the power of the nation in an arms race, the overwhelming weaponry ready for combat to face anything that comes in their way.

Lyric: I just wanted, I just needed to be loved
Annotation:
Despite all the power and rampant tyranny that the protagonist carried out, all he ever wanted was to be loved. This finishing line ties the whole album together. It parallels the lives of the protagonist and the antagonist. It shows that both people had a void that they were trying to fill. “Dead Inside” shows how the protagonist tried to fill this void with a love affair that ended disastrously. “The Globalist” shows how the antagonist tried to fill this void with power and absolute control over other people. In the end, the protagonist and antagonist of the story suffered from the same predicament – they wanted to be loved.

Lyric: It’s you and me, babe, survivors
 To hunt and gather memories
 Of the great nation we were
Annotation:
The unnamed protagonist is remorseful for destroying his country and with the help of his unnamed love interest, must fight to survive and remember the strength and might of his former nation. The phrase “hunt and gather” shows how far this nation has fallen. These people must turn to ancient methods of survival that predate recorded history. There is no longer a strong civilization to live within; now it is every man for himself in this post-war land.

Lyric: You can be the commander in chief
Annotation:
A commander in chief is one who asserts the most power and control in national military. Without such a position, it is impossible to make the necessary moves to win the upper hand. But it is paramount that control is desired by the protagonist and that requires confidence.

Lyric: But you can rise up like a god
Annotation:
The Globalist realizes that because of the harsh circumstances that made him hard and self-sufficient, he has the strength of will to become the ruler over these broken people. Never again will he have to count on others for his well-being,  instead he will be the one who manipulates and controls everything.

Lyric: (Ten, nine, eight, seven, six)
 (Five, four, three, two, one, fire)
Annotation:
This countdown refers to either the beginning of the war that the antagonist is about to engage in, or the firing of the nuclear weaponry the speaker alluded to previously.

Lyric: Now you finally have the code
Annotation:
This code that the speaker is making note of isn’t necessarily a literal code, per se, but a method; all that the speaker has mentioned above is the code. This code is likely the emotional motivation to engage and become the “commander in chief” that the speaker tells the antagonist they can develop into. More literally, the ‘codes’ can likely refer to the launch codes for nuclear weapons (which appear soon after).

Lyric: You can hide your true motives
 To dismantle and destroy
Annotation:
In order to get this type of power, The Globalist must wear a mask of peaceful, benevolent intent. This will convince the masses that he has their best interest at heart. Only after he gains full control does the extent of his hubris and madness become apparent.

Lyric: Transform the earth to your desire
Annotation:
Now the Globalist is contemplating political strength that only the greatest of empires and superpowers could ever hope to achieve. In the entire history of the world only three countries have even to close to this type of global superiority: The British Empire The USSR The United States However, this dream takes it one step further. It’s not only his country that has this global reach,  he himself has the power to change the world. In some Christian circles, this type of world dictator is called an  Antichrist, a leader so powerful that he can defy God himself. There are also implications of this dictator destroying the earth and depleting it of its resources in order to gain power.

Lyric: You can build a nuclear power
Annotation:
Very few countries have become “Nuclear Powers”, that is, states that are in possession of a nuclear bomb. Becoming a nuclear power instantly makes you one of the most feared nations in the world. As of 2019,  there only 9 countries that have possession of these weapons. Russia, 6,850 nuclear warheads The United States of America, 6,185 nuclear warheads France, 300 nuclear warheads China, 280 nuclear warheads The United Kingdom, 215 nuclear warheads Pakistan, 145 nuclear warheads India, 135 nuclear warheads Israel, 80 nuclear warheads North Korea, 15 nuclear warheads

Lyric: Arm yourself, you can be strong
Annotation:
This begins a litany of goals that The Globalist strives for, and succeeds in obtaining, in his thirst for control. First, he arms himself with weaponry and supporters, becoming politically strong.

Lyric: You were left unprotected
 To these wild and fragile lands
Annotation:
Exploited by his parents and neglected by the church and the state, The Globalist was abandoned to his own devices, forced to survive without guidance. “Wild and Fragile” describes a place that is leaderless and weak. The perfect conditions for a dictator to arise. A real-life historical counterpart to this existed in Germany after their defeat in World War I.  Weak leadership and an economy in ruins led to the election of the Nazi Party, and it’s chancellor, Adolf Hitler.

Lyric: You were never truly nurtured
 By churches or the state
Annotation:
It’s possible that this child was an orphan, a ward of ‘the churches or the state’, signifying both religious and governmental agencies. These agencies took care of his physical needs but his emotional and spiritual needs were left unfulfilled. In analytical psychology, the mother archetype was absent for the protagonist. This than created a complex that led to the choices he made. Lack of nurturing leads the protagonist to seek it out in excess later in life, often in unhealthy ways.

Lyric: Free your mind from false beliefs
Annotation:
The Globalist must believe in nothing but himself. Anything else would be weakness. The speaker is criticizing religious and governmental organisations, as well as societal expectations; he is stating that they are all lies. Everything that has shaped us are lies. Religion’s purpose is to make us act a certain way. By believing & following the rules of God, it makes us easier to control. Dedication to a people group through sex, race, ethnicity or borders is a weakness as well, it keeps us from acting for our own interest only. This line highlights the dystopian character of the song, where traditional believes get massively replaced by propaganda: for example in Orwell’s  1984 (which Muse  has touched on in the past), the protagonist Winston is told that he must be “cured” of his false beliefs. If The Party says that 2+2=5, he must accept it as a truth that has always existed. There is no “faking” the belief in The Party; one must be consumed and fully indoctrinated by them – “We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.”

Lyric: I have given you the code
Annotation:
Muse quite literally hid a backwards code in the song, right after Matt sings “I have given you the code”. If you reverse the song and slow it down, you can hear snippets from the first seven songs on the album. 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 Plus one more line sounding like Our freedom’s just a loan This is the “game plan” for world domination.

Lyric: You were never truly loved
 You have only been betrayed
Annotation:
Part 1 describes the early life experiences that prepared The Globalist for world domination: He had been taught by his parents and family that there is no such thing as love, only manipulation. Love is only a tool to gain trust, so that you can take advantage of the weakness.

Lyric: A trillion memories lost in space and time
 Forevermore
Annotation:
This is the line that makes the most obvious reference to  “Citizen Erased”, this songs' prequel. In “Citizen Erased”, the dictator erased the memories of the peoples, brainwashing them, to erase their pain and  make them feel like they were living a good life when actually they were being opressed: Erase all the memories They’ll only bring us pain Now, the dictator feels bad about all the memories he erased that, as he says, are lost in space and time.

Lyric: There’s no culture left
 To love and cherish
 It’s gone, you know it’s gone for good
Annotation:
The country the protagonists loved and cherished is gone; however, it is not literally destroyed. This country has been destroyed by its own policies, its changing of its citizens into human drones.  This last section of the song also samples very heavily from Edward Elgar’s Nimrod Variation, taking its main theme from the piece in much the same way  United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage) takes from Chopin’s Nocturne op. 9 no. 2.

