The artwork for the 7" cover was chosen by competition, and the winner was Adam Falkus. The runner-up images are included in the DVD version of the single. The song was performed regularly during the tour in support of Absolution and remains a staple of the band's live show. The song also appears on the Absolution Tour DVD and on both the CD and DVD of HAARP.
The song's video, starring actor Justin Theroux, is based on the hotel-trashing scene from the movie Pink Floyd The Wall. It takes the form of a short narrative depicting a man (the protagonist) awakening inside of a hotel room and, through non-linear chronological elements, discovering that he both stalked and eventually met with a prostitute with whom he was obsessed (played by Alessandra Torresani ). This encounter, however, ends unpleasantly. The video has several interpretations and can be seen to have several ambiguous elements, including the fit of rage which induces the man to trash the hotel room, and several chronologically non-linear sequences describing elements of plot.
An alternate video was also created for the release of the single in the U.S. which features the band playing in front of a green screen; with white blood vessels, a woman's face, red, grey and black circles overlapping, and lightning.
The director's cut of the video features several women visiting the protagonist in his hotel room as well as the main woman from the original version and is available on the Microcuts fansite.
The television channel TNT used "Hysteria" in its commercials in late 2004, and it was also used in commercials for Guerlain's Insolence perfume. Aside from commercials, "Hysteria" was also featured in a season 2 episode of the HBO series Entourage, and was used alongside Blackout, another song from the Absolution album, in the movie Millions. The Washington Capitals used the song as a musical introduction to the second period of their home hockey games during the 2006-07 NHL Season[citation needed], and The Jim Rome Show uses this song as a "bumper" between show breaks. The British television program Brainiac: History Abuse used the song at the end of each show with the "Explosive Of The Week". It was also used as the main theme for Moto GP on the BBC up until the Dutch race at Assen in 2009, as well as the background song of the official race edit for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix on Formula1.com. Hysteria is frequently used as Windsor-Detroits 88.7, 89x's "Morning X's" starter song.
"Hysteria" is also featured in the European version of the video game Rock Band and as downloadable content for the US version.
Hysteria
Muse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And twisting me around
Yeah, I'm endlessly caving in
And turning inside out
'Cause I want it now, I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out, I'm breaking out
Yeah, it's holding me, morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly cold within
And dreaming I'm alive
'Cause I want it now, I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down, I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now, I want you now
I'll feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out, escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
The lyrics of Muse's song Hysteria convey a sense of desperation and intense longing for something that seems just out of reach. The opening lines, "It's bugging me, grating me, and twisting me around," suggest a deep inner turmoil that the singer cannot shake. The repetition of the line "I want it now, give me your heart and your soul," highlights the urgency of this desire, while the reference to "breaking out" and "losing control" suggests a loss of restraint or inhibition.
As the song continues, the singer expresses a desire to be "endlessly cold within" while still "dreaming" of being alive. This could be interpreted as a desire for detachment or a fear of vulnerability, but also a gnawing sense of numbness that comes from being disconnected. As the song reaches its climax, the singer declares, "I want you now, I'll feel my heart implode," emphasizing the intensity of this longing and the potentially destructive consequences of denying it.
Overall, the song is a powerful exploration of the contradictions and complexities of desire, showing how it can both inspire and consume us, and how difficult it can be to find balance and satisfaction.
Line by Line Meaning
It's bugging me, grating me
Something is seriously bothering and irritating me.
And twisting me around
The issue is affecting me to the point where I'm unable to think straight.
Yeah, I'm endlessly caving in
I'm slowly and steadily giving in to the pressure and stress.
And turning inside out
The situation is causing me to feel confused and disoriented.
'Cause I want it now, I want it now
I'm feeling the urgency of wanting something immediately.
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm willing to go to any extent to get what I want, even if it means taking something very valuable from you.
And I'm breaking out, I'm breaking out
I'm on the verge of losing control and acting out of character.
Last chance to lose control
This is the final opportunity to let loose and give in to impulsive behavior.
Yeah, it's holding me, morphing me
The situation is completely taking over and changing me in ways I wasn't prepared for.
And forcing me to strive
I'm being driven to work harder and harder towards something that may not even be worth it.
To be endlessly cold within
I'm slowly becoming insensitive and indifferent towards everything around me.
And dreaming I'm alive
Despite all this, I'm still holding on to a desperate hope that things will work out in the end.
'Cause I want it now, I want it now
I'm still feeling that compulsion to get what I want as soon as possible.
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm still willing to take something very valuable from you in order to achieve my goals.
I'm not breaking down, I'm breaking out
I'm no longer able to handle the stress and pressure of the situation, and am about to lash out.
Last chance to lose control
This is still the final opportunity to let loose and act impulsively.
And I want you now, I want you now
I'm getting more desperate and longing for something even more out of reach than before.
I'll feel my heart implode
The situation will cause me to feel overwhelming emotional pain and self-destruction.
And I'm breaking out, escaping now
I'm no longer able to endure the situation and am looking to escape.
Feeling my faith erode
I'm feeling my beliefs and values slowly crumbling away due to the prolonged stress and frustration.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Matthew James Bellamy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-mj5vv7sn3u
Lyrics
It's bugging me
Grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah, I'm endlessly
Caving in
And turning inside out
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And it's holding me
Morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly
Cold within
And dreaming I'm alive
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now
I want you now
I feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
@crazyrider7699
"Hysteria"
It's bugging me, grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah I'm endlessly caving in
And turning inside out
'cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
It's holding me, morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly cold within
And dreaming I'm alive
'cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now
I want you now
I'll feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
@elenar.8432
Lyrics:
It's bugging me
Grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah, I'm endlessly
Caving in
And turning inside out
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And it's holding me
Morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly
Cold within
And dreaming I'm alive
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now
I want you now
I feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
@missamy2714
It's bugging me
Grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah, I'm endlessly
Caving in
And turning inside out
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And it's holding me
Morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly
Cold within
And dreaming I'm alive
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now
I want you now
I feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
@joniwang3950
It's bugging me
Grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah I'm endlessly
Caving in
And turning inside out
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
Yeah it's holding me
Morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly
Caving in
And dreaming I'm alive
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now
I want you now
I feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
@battlestore91
Lirik
It's bugging me
Grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah, I'm endlessly
Caving in
And turning inside out
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And it's holding me
Morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly
Cold within
And dreaming I'm alive
'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control
And I want you now
I want you now
I feel my heart implode
And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode
@pasvio1264
If you listen carefully at 0:00, you can hear the sound of the song starting.
@aethernaveritas6703
wat
@LadyAristotle
+billis pas No way...
@LadyAristotle
mind-blown
@danielrp2702
+billis pas Omg, now i cannot see the world the same way.
@olaf_ch_
Genius 🤔
@darknessinside9518
This is one of the best bass lines ever made
@buozq2
You mean the finger killer
@user-xw6uh3yp7g
Antoine Gauthier distortion doesn’t equal guitar
@Freezee
I finally got it :)