United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
Lyrics
Muse
We don't know or care who's to blame
But we know that whoever holds the reigns
Nothing will change
Our cause has gone insane
And these wars they can't be won
And these wars they can't be won
And do you want them to go on and on and on?
Why split these states
When there can be only one
And must we do as we're told?
Must we do as we're told?
You and me fall in line
To be punished for unproven crimes
And we know that there's no one we can trust
Our ancient heroes
They are turning to dust
And these wars they can't be won
Does anyone know or care how they begun?
They just promise to go on and on and on
But soon we will see
There can be only one
United States
United States of
Eurasia! Sia! Sia! Sia! Sia!
Eurasia! Sia! Sia! Sia! Sia!
Eurasia! Sia! Sia! Sia! Sia!
Song facts
"United States of Eurasia" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse and is featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. The song was made available as a free digital download online on 21 July 2009 and is followed by an instrumental solo entitled "Collateral Damage", based on Nocturne In E-Flat Major, Op.9 No.2 by Frédéric Chopin.
In a pre-release interview featured in the August edition of music magazine Mojo, vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy reveals the song to be inspired by "a book called The Grand Chessboard by Zbigniew Brzezinski," explaining that "Brzezinski has the viewpoint that the Eurasian landmass, ie Europe, Asia and the Middle East, needs to be controlled by America to secure the oil supply." Bellamy goes on to suggest that the song is also influenced by George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which Eurasia is one of Earth's three super-states.
The song has received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Music magazine NME published a pre-release interview with the band on 7 July, identifying "United States..." as one of the highlights of the album and describing how it "builds into a climax of multi-tracked Queen-style vocals." In a French review of the album published on MuseBootlegs.com, the song is likened to Queen's song "Bohemian Rhapsody", Maurice Jarre's soundtrack for the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia and Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, the amalgamation of which is said to produce "A long, cinematic classic rock trip."
Online review magazine Pitchfork Media was less receptive and granted the song a rating of 2 out of 10. Stating, "Even for a shameless group like Muse, 'United States of Eurasia' is pushing things a little too far...[with] rhetoric that'd make even the most passionate zealot roll their eyes."
