What do you think Uprising means?

Muse: Uprising Meaning

Album cover for Uprising album cover

Uprising Lyrics

Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume
They'll try to, push drugs that keep us all dumbed down
And hope that, we will never see the truth around
(so come on)
Another promise, another seed
Another, packaged lie to keep us...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    democracynow
    click a star to vote
    Apr 22nd 2010 !⃝

    Lead singer Matt Bellamy explained: “The lead single, ‘Uprising’, was kind of inspired by the G20 protests which took place last year”. If this is true, it is consistent with my interpretation of the lyrics, namely that "they" represents large corporations. Unfortunately we live in a business run society; they control the media along with more and more aspects of people's lives all the time. The term for this phenomenon is called neolibralism. I would encourage you to research it if you are not familiar with it.

    It is not surprising that some people assume "they" means the government given the massive propaganda campaign waged against government for the last 40 years and all the attention given to the recent Tea Party Movement by the media. It is important to note that government represents a democratic institution that people can use to bring about change. Corporations represent tyrannical institution. Corporations are required by law to maximize profits regardless of the effects of this on people, the environment or anything else. Unfortunately the government has become the “shadow cast over society by big business”-John Dewey. We have to get the money out of politics so that we can start to take back our country. This starts by seeing through the doctrinal system and realizing that “we are not the consumers of democracy, we are its proprietors”-Raj Patel.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 3rd 2014 !⃝

    The muse in this song is talking about our spirtiual awakening that is all inside of us. We are all much more than our society percieves us to be. They want us all just to keep buying their products and keep living in a life of "PORN" to where they control our minds. But now people are starting to wake up "a paranoia is in bloom." It is talking about our generation actually taking a stand. We no longer want to be controlled by the people who think "they have a higher power." It is time to take control. Stop taking the drugs that the world says is the best for you. Because its a trap so we arent able to use our full capsitiy of what we can do. WE can create our own life. The Universe and Mother Earth provide all we need. "if you could only flip a switch and open your third eye, and see we should never be afraid to die. Rise up and take the power up." I am tried of living in fear, because fear is only real if we believe it to be. And thats how the government control our lives. WEll its time for a change. Time to start taking our lives back. Spiritual Awakening is welcomed to everyone who asks and is ready to recieve it. Why not use what we are actually given to live how we want too. I see feel and sense things more differently and its beautiful. To whoever would like to know about spiritual awakening and how you can achieve and stop living in fear, email me at carlie.foster10@gmail.com ITS TIME TO WAKE UP! LET THE REVULTION TAKE ITS TROLL!!!!

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    Suma
    click a star to vote
    Nov 21st 2009 !⃝

    Its definitely clear what this is about...

    We = The people
    They = the people of the government

    ''fat cats'' = corrupted politicians or people of the government
    and so on :D
    IN a nutshell its about an Uprising of the people, revolution and standing up to fight for your right, not letting people of the government play around with you, and revolting against such corrupted people, with an Uprising.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 16th 2021 !⃝

    The text could have been written in 2021. We have never ever seen the tyranni more clear than the vax-tyranni we see today

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 21st 2012 !⃝

    STOP TALKING ABOUT HAIR THIS IS UPRISING PEOPLE GO TO FACEBOOK.
    no offense. :)

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 21st 2012 !⃝

    muse must be a bit scared of government. (shown in this song, perhaps resistance, assassin (did i spell that wrong?))
    it's basically saying that their government is cruddy and we will not bow down to their stupidness.
    Plain and simple, peeps!

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 3rd 2012 !⃝

    its about uprising against your government.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 29th 2012 !⃝

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  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 29th 2012 !⃝

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  10. anonymous
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    Apr 28th 2012 !⃝

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  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 5th 2012 !⃝

    Uprising by Muse

    Paranoia is in bloom,
    The PR, transmissions will resume
    They'll try to, push drugs that keep us all dumbed down
    And hope that, we will never see the truth around
    (So come on)

    This song describes how life in our country can seem like a gigantic conspiracy. Muse is trying to make the listeners aware of the plight of Joe America. The singer is singing about treatment centers and how closely they work with pharmaceutical companies... The "rehab" centers get paid to push completely frightening medication on trusting and emotionally raw patients who WANT to feel the full and broad spectrum of their feelings. The Captains of Industry/Doctors push anti-craving meds, anti-depressants, anti-anxieties & anti-psychotics FOR NO GOOD REASON. The root of the problem is that Joe lacks clarity. How does Joe gain clarity? He refrains from taking ALL chemicals which is a TOTAL FEAT in a treatment center. The Captains of Pharmacy want the patient off of street drugs and alcohol because they want him to take THEIR stuff. They do not want him to take nothing! Joe has to fight to take nothing! Joe is on precarious terrain... First of all, he can no longer rely on what he considered to be a very important coping mechanism (street drugs, neighbourhood alcohol). The comfy blankey he snuggled with in order to help him through life is now gone. OF COURSE this puts him in a position of total vulnerability. This ALONE creates huge anxiety for "addict" Joe. Then, when feeling scared and off-guard, the Captain-Doctors get in his face with their medical jargon to oppress him. They tell him how truly f*ed up he is which is the equivalent of them pulling a wild hair out of their rumpus. Joe has to stay calm when they tell him that he is the male version of Sybil. There is a documentary called, "The Marketing of Madness" and Joe read about it while in the treatment center. Here is some information on it: "The definitive documentary on psychotropic drugging—this is the story of the high-income partnership between drug companies and psychiatry which has created an $80 billion profit from the peddling of psychotropic drugs to an unsuspecting public. But appearances are deceiving. How valid are psychiatrist’s diagnoses—and how safe are their drugs? Digging deep beneath the corporate veneer, this three-part documentary exposes the truth behind the slick marketing schemes and scientific deceit that conceal a dangerous and often deadly sales campaign." One smart doctor they interviewed for the film said, "There is no objective testing in psychiatry. There is no blood test. There is no urine test. There is no biopsy. There is nothing that objectively proves that there's anything physiologically or biochemically wrong that's creating your symptoms." This information is very disconcerting to Joe America. He must tap into his self-restraint and summon a breezy yet respectful tone as he questions their diagnosis. If Joe possessed neither emotional intelligence nor impulse control he would completely unravel in front of the doctors' eyes. He would react with rage & fear which is EXACTLY what they want because it would provide momentum for their plot. (At the very least it would prove he is "imbalanced".) This is when he learns how important gut instincts are & how to use them to the best of his abilities in order to survive their game. The best way for him to react to ANY bullshit being thrown in his face is with calm. He says, "Thank you very much, I'll have to THINK about what you are telling me." He must breathe deeply and feel peace when he is up against cold and calculating doctors & professionals who are telling him that he should take a specific & aggressive pharmaceutical in order to get through life. Joe feels traumatized. Once he is able to process his emotions without any chemicals he can see how truly spooky their system is. THEY DON'T WANT HIM TO REALIZE THIS! They want to keep him "dumbed down" and numbed out and then he will less likely speak up and say how frightening their method of operating is. If Joe wasn't diagnosed as a paranoid, delusional or schizophrenic, he will most likely develop the symptoms for these "diseases" ANYWAY, as his fears and suspicions are COMPLETELY legitimate. He knows in his sane heart of hearts that the powers that be are truly out to get him.

    Joe thinks that treatment centers can and have saved the lives of serious drug addicts and alcoholics but they also have the power to ruin lives. They need to develop compassion, prioritize the patient's well-being and stop thinking of ONLY the bottom-line. They need to end their marketing of insanity and develop a conscience. Joe wasn't psyched to be a guinea pig but he learned a lot. His suggestions to the institution would be: A. Employ an herbalist B. Employ several acupuncturists C. Offer REAL massage (not fake "chair massage") D. Make exercise a FUN REQUIREMENT (Offer nature walks/hikes and running groups in order to motivate the patients to get healthy and fit physically) E. Put in a Jamba Juice (let people get high on ginger-carrot juice). Joe would like the institutionalized medical experience to feel like less of a punishment to an "addict" and more of an opportunity to restructure their priorities and goals. Let's call this last paragraph, Joe's "feeble spasm*".

    Another promise, another seed
    Another, packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed
    And all the, green belts wrapped around our minds
    And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
    (So come on)

    The NY Times columnist, David Brooks, wrote a recent article called, "How to Fight the Man". It is much like this song by Muse.. It is a thought-provoking kick in the pants to all people disenchanted with the current state of religion, politics and corporate America. Brooks suggests that if a person feels he has received an incomplete education that he should dig in and study. He wrote, "The old leftists had dialectical materialism and the Marxist view of history. Libertarians have Hayek and von Mises. Various spiritual movements have drawn from Transcendentalism, Stoicism, Gnosticism, Thomism, Augustine, Tolstoy, or the Catholic social teaching that inspired Dorothy Day." Brooks is giving Americans some homework. "These belief systems helped people envision alternate realities. They helped people explain why the things society values are not the things that should be valued. They gave movements a set of organizing principles." We should take Brooks' advice and learn from historians, philosophers, theologians and EACH OTHER. We all have gaps in our knowledge base and ignorances we can remedy. He seems to be telling us to get wise. Muse is singing that truth shouldn't be some hidden corporate vendetta against innocent civilians. Why must we deal with oppressively complex situations and obstructive, time-consuming procedures just to learn what makes these fat cats tick? Their money making tactics can make us feel like we have been through an antiquated mangle-machine. It seems Brooks and Muse are encouraging Joe America to rip the face off of the evil-doers!

    They will not force us
    They will stop degrading us
    They will not control us
    We will be victorious
    So come on

    Americans need to open our eyes and take notes. We must not allow big business to "force, control and degrade" us. We must rebel against the stifling plot! Brooks says, "Rebellion without a rigorous alternative vision is just a feeble spasm*." Joe America respectfully disagrees with this statement. Isn't "rebellion" somewhat of a process and not complete & sudden upheaval? "Feeble spasms" can gain momentum and lead somewhere. We should be able to effectuate change with small steps which might LOOK like inadequate outbursts, but which ultimately make a difference. Feeble spasms is a derogatory name for "attempts", which is better than sitting back and doing nothing. We must never stop making attempts at change which hopefully increase in strength with education & time. This song and David Brooks are BOTH urging us to shake things up in order to create positive change in the institutions which seem particularly outdated, rotten and/or screwy. If we work hard to "Fight the Man" by engaging in a dialogue with him, we just might be victorious.

    Interchanging mind control
    Come let the, revolution takes its toll
    If you could, flick the switch and open your third eye
    You'd see that, we should never be afraid to die
    (So come on)

    Media is all around and it is a mass corporate conspiracy. All of the major corporations are in cahoots with each other. Big business appears to be a cloudy & dismal film blanketing truth. Many of these institutions are seemingly impenetrable marketing machines. Their business model is to suck us dry of the currency du jour; cash, emotion & knowledge in order to cause a downward spiral for the customer/client/patient/civilian. The sooner Joe America realizes their goal is to take him down, the better off he'll be. He is now realizing that the world can be incredibly destructive. He needs to watch his own back. Joe feels isolated and alone, but he knows "they" are watching him. Joe learned the hard way that there is no such thing as on-line privacy. Those in control know virtually everything about him. They know everything he buys, where he goes for entertainment, who his friends are, the name of the man he is in Love with, etc. Joe is running around his town like a trapped mouse in a cage. He thinks they are trying to brainwash him but he will have none of it. He is not afraid of any Captain who tries to kill him. Throughout the chaos, somehow, Joe has a center which holds...

    Rise up and take the power back
    It's time the, fat cats had a heart attack
    You know that, their time's coming to an end
    We have to, unify and watch our flag ascend
    (So come on)

    Brooks says, "We can all theorize why the intense desire for change has so far produced relatively few coherent recipes for change." He wonders if young Americans "lack the oppositional mentality necessary for revolt." What exactly is the "oppositional mentality" necessary for revolt? How does one single working class man stage a revolt against a particular institution? (I asked my kids this question and they suggested "death threats" and "burning it down".) First of all, why must it be a REVOLUTION? Revolutions can be so destructive. Evolution seems to be our goal. It is a kinder, gentler, more realistic form of progress. Secondly, if Joe feels alone, isolated, not privy to the plot & in the dark about who he is up against, it makes it difficult to organize his strategy. Brooks suggests that perhaps "Joe" is too distracted. I would guess this must be a factor. We all lead busy lives. Maybe Joe drives a carpool, disputes false harassment suits and tries to shake the albatross of being labeled the town delusional. We must not give up. There are creative forms of expression (such as lyric websites) which can lead to ideas & foster change in our brutal culture of exposure & interconnected world. As the fat cats learn about Joe America, he learns about THEM.

    They will not force us
    They will stop degrading us
    They will not control us
    We will be victorious
    So come on

    Brooks says, "If you go out there armed only with your own observations and sentiments, you will surely find yourself on very weak ground. You’ll lack the arguments, convictions and the coherent view of reality that you’ll need when challenged by a self-confident opposition." Joe is a working class man who feels like the Captains and the Doctors make certain rules for selfish reasons. They sit back in fancy offices with high-paid lawyers and write their own golden parachutes. Joe America sees hypocrisy in the types of Captains who vocally despise a particular newspaper & are adamantly opposed to subscribing to it when it is in fact their corporations who are the primary sponsors of that newspaper. (But, maybe the sponsorship is part of the company's charitable giving contribution.) In order to foster progress, NOT ONLY does Joe America need to have the patience and desire to sit down with the Captains, the Captains need these qualities as well in order to understand where Joe America is coming from. Joe America WANTS to learn why certain things are done the way they are done...

    Hey, hey, hey, hey
    Hey, hey, hey, hey
    Hey, hey, hey, hey

    Muse is saying HEY. Wake up to the realities of what goes on in America every single day. Read the New York Times. Learn from David Brooks, Nicholas Kristoff, Maureen Dowd and Music. Start spasming feebly or as best you can!

    They will not force us
    They will stop degrading us
    They will not control us
    We will be victorious
    So come on

    Brooks says, "Authorities and institutions don’t repress the passions of the heart, the way some young people now suppose. They give them focus and a means to turn passion into change." When we channel our mojo & zeal into vision, motivation and persistence we should be able to get things done. Brooks said, "My own theory revolves around a single bad idea. For generations people have been told: Think for yourself; come up with your own independent worldview. Unless your name is Nietzsche, that’s probably a bad idea. Very few people have the genius or time to come up with a comprehensive and rigorous worldview." Perhaps it is less about genius and more about time. Very few of us are authentic geniuses, but each of us brings different skills to our collective conscience. Maybe the comprehensive and rigorous view is more of a neighbourhood view. It is a small step, but even small steps have ripple effects. Like the bumpersticker, "Think Globally, Act Locally". Maybe it is less about "How to Fight The Man" or How to Thank The Man, and more about, "How to Speak Locally With The Man". Maybe rather than thinking of it as an UPRISING or a REVOLT it is more about an evolution through "rebellion" by Talking to The Man (real face to real face). Progress would be made by taking the time to find out who the man IS and what makes him tick. If the Joes and the Captains could begin a spirited and respectful dialogue with one another, there might be no need for full-blown upheaval. The ultimate goal should be that they see the positive qualities the other possesses and can learn from each other. That is the process of growth, evolution and slow change which seems to be the only way to achieve real advancement in our society.


    Please excuse any typos, punctuation idiocy, grammatical errors, political/religious/romantic/corporate ponderings, and of course, me for living.

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 25th 2011 !⃝

    the song is about the illuminati, although i am not sure where Muse stand. During a recent awards show (Grammys i think) where Muse performed this song, Bellamy flashed the triangle symbol during the chorus, it was real quick, but i caught it. in the entertainment world, you have to be aligned to make it big and stay there. Jay-Z and Beyonce, Lady Gaga etc.
    as for the drugs to dumb us down part, it is well known that drugs administered to treat depression and other psychological disorders are often given to patients who don't really need them, and these drugs were created by illuminati-run companies to create mind-slaves.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 3rd 2011 !⃝

    It's a bunch of words which, rather like horrorscopes, can be interpreted how you like. The tune, which is Doctor Who meets glam rock (who'd a thunk that would work, huh?), has a fabulous energy. The words create a feeling that you are rallying against something (anything, it doesn't matter) and help carry you along. This type of lyric particularly works with younger people and creates an emotional bond between the listener and the band (The clash, U2, New Model Army also users of this methodology in their day). (Older people find the lyrics rather amusing.) Muse know exactly what they are doing and more power to them for it. It's a great song and despite knowing all of this, I still enjoy it a lot. xx

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 24th 2011 !⃝

    :) bankster gangsters, rothschild, morgan etc. Zeitgeist, zionists, nikola tesla, jekyll island, haarp, mind control, amero...get googling kids!!

  15. Renee Heffley Ness
    click a star to vote
    Sep 4th 2011 !⃝

    I interpret this for me to mean many things.
    As any great song should it must be able to be individualized therefore it can mean different things to different people. For me I have been held fast by religious, political, corporal... dogma. It's breaking free and allowing yourself to think & act outside the box, not allowing yourself to be held by another's standard but free to be yourself with out retribution. I LOVE IT!!!

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 26th 2011 !⃝

    First off, the Illuminati is very real. It's all around us, we see their symbols all the time.

    Second off, those who beleive in the Illuminati and posted HAVE IT ALL WRONG! They're not with the Illuminati they're completly AGAINST them!

    Listen to the lyrics, "They will not control us", and there is supposed to be a New World Order, that is when they are going to try and control us. When the New World Order is announced, we will have to Join or Die (I have chosen death) and in one part they say "We should never be afraid to die"

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 20th 2011 !⃝

    why say the illuminati doesn't exist , look up more research and you might learn something about them you dont know about Bohemians grove? , and listen to end of days vinnie paz , that says everything these people are doing this country and world is being controlled by unbelievably sick people and type up 25 plans for the illuminati they want to wipe out 2/3rds of the worlds population like the revelation says or the game cards from the illuminati its all there the london riots now 2011 is because of them they want to change laws and gain more power against the people thats why there are cameras everywhere we are living in a world with no control

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 24th 2011 !⃝

    If the Illuminati are indeed real, why'd matt bellamy say that this song was about the G20 protests? and why haven't the "illuminati" taken muse out for exposing them? (heres a hint) THE ILLUMINATI DON'T EXIST.

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