The first live performance of "Knights of Cydonia" took place at a BBC Radio 1 event, Radio 1's Big Weekend, held at Camperdown Park in Dundee on 2006-05-13. Also performed at this event were "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Starlight", the first two singles from Black Holes and Revelations. Live performances of "Knights of Cydonia" feature Bellamy's intro falsetto much more loudly and clearly than its studio counterpart. Recent live performances have featured Bellamy playing an extra guitar part during the solo at the end of song, as well as the coda of "Space Dementia" played as a finale.
On January 26, 2008, "Knights of Cydonia" was announced as the number-one song in Australia's 2007 Triple J Hottest 100. The song was also ranked #18 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009. It was also ranked #53 on Rhapsody's list of the Top 100 Tracks of the Decade.
In the intro is a citation of the five tone musical phrase from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The song features vocals from both Bellamy's higher and lower ranges layered and both synthesised and live trumpet parts. The guitar sound in the song was inspired by the 1962 number one hit "Telstar" by The Tornados (George Bellamy, Matt Bellamy's father, was the band's rhythm guitarist). The song, taken in entirety, also bears a striking resemblance to George Bellamy's composition "Ridin' the Wind".
Bellamy has stated that on the album in general he tried to create a vision of what is occurring in the song. For example, the bassline has a galloping rhythm depicting someone riding a horse.
The KOC video was shot over five days: three days in Romania; one day in London; and one day in Red Rock, California; it was made available on July 11, 2006. It was filmed and edited as a thematic smörgåsbord: a spaghetti western film with post-apocalyptic influence, complete with beginning and end credits, livened with the occasional kung-fu cowboy or metal-clad maiden astride a unicorn.
The video was directed by Joseph Kahn, and stars British actor Russ Bain as the protagonist (The Man With No Name), Richard Brake as the antagonist (Sheriff Baron Klaus Rottingham), and Cassandra Bell as the love interest (Princess Shane Kuriyami). Throughout the video, the actors mouth out the lyrics, such as Russ Bain ramshackled in town square mouthing ‘No one's going to take me alive’, and Cassandra Bell at the gallows ‘You and I must fight for our rights’. In both instances, the mouthed words occur after the song lyrics and complete before the song moves on to the next line. The band appears in some scenes as holograms, and there are also some scenes featuring lead singer Bellamy. Also, when it shows the population of the town Cydonia it is shown as "143", a common symbol for "I love you", although it is unknown whether this is just a random number, or it was put there for a reason by the director or band.
A very brief scene in which Bain has sex with his love interest was edited out of the video for presentation on television. The complete, uncensored version is available for viewing at the director's website, and on YouTube. In the scene where Bain has sex, the camera crew can be intentionally seen in the mirror left of the bed.
'Knights of Cydonia" entered the UK Singles Chart the week of 2006-12-04 at #10.
Prior to its entry in the Singles Chart, "Knights of Cydonia" had been active in the Downloads Chart, and sat at #41 the same week that the physical release debuted at #10 in the Singles Chart. Three weeks earlier, the song sat at #104 in the Downloads Chart marking a substantial jump in that time period.
The song was the winner of Triple J's annual Hottest 100 countdown for 2007, and later was voted #18 in 2009's Hottest 100 of All Time countdown, where it was the second-highest ranked song from the 21st century.
Knights of Cydonia
Muse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the veins of history
I'll show you a God
Who falls asleep on the job
And how can we win
When fools can be kings?
Don't waste your time
No one's gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
The starting verse of Muse’s Knights of Cydonia takes the listener on a wild ride through history, offering a glimpse of a deity who is falling asleep on the job, hinting at divine inattention, and possibly the eventual downfall of civilization. The following lines, punctuated by a chorus that demands us to never give up, are a call to arms for the listener to fight for what’s right and fair, no matter the cost. The theme of the song is powerfully evocative, asking us to consider what we’re ready to do to maintain or even establish our rights.
The epic sound of the song can be attributed to Muse's frequent use of an orchestra in the background, the driving guitar by Matt Bellamy, and the intense drums by Dominic Howard. Although it was released on the band's fourth studio album in 2006, the song has since been recognized as one of the band's most successful singles, featuring many notable covers by other artists. Its rise to fame is attributed in part to its memorable intro, which is played on a harmonica, and its high energy level. Knights of Cydonia has been described as the perfect blend of rock and sci-fi, and its popularity with audiences continues to endure.
Line by Line Meaning
Come ride with me
Follow me as we journey through history.
Through the veins of history
Travel through the time and events of the past that have shaped our present.
I'll show you a God
I'll guide you to a powerful entity that is revered and worshiped.
Who falls asleep on the job
This God is not actively involved in overseeing and guiding the world, but instead slumbers, leaving humans to fend for themselves.
And how can we win
In light of the God's absence, how can we emerge victorious?
When fools can be kings?
When power can be so easily attained and wielded by the foolish, how can we hope to overcome and establish a just society?
Don't waste your time
Do not squander the limited time you have on this Earth.
Or time will waste you
If you do not seize the moment and take action, time will pass you by and you'll have nothing to show for it.
No one's gonna take me alive
In the face of opposition and threats to one's existence, one will not be taken down easily.
The time has come to make things right
A turning point has been reached where decisive action must be taken in order to correct past wrongs.
You and I must fight for our rights
Both you and I bear the responsibility of standing up and defending our personal freedoms and liberties.
You and I must fight to survive
If we do not fight for what we believe in, we may not survive the harsh realities of life.
No one's gonna take me alive
Reiterated to emphasize the resolve and determination to resist and overcome obstacles.
The time has come to make things right
Reiterated to amplify the sense of urgency and importance in confronting and solving problems.
You and I must fight for our rights
Reiterated to enunciate the significance of everyone's role in safeguarding personal freedoms and human rights.
You and I must fight to survive
Reiterated to reinforce the message of resilience and determination necessary to thrive and prosper in life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Matthew James Bellamy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shanehookxasting@fmail.com
Makeshift innocence
@user-zv5vw8lk9n
Come ride with me
Through the veins of history
I'll show you a God
Falls asleep on the job
And how can we win,
When fools can be kings
Don't waste your time
Or time will waste you
No one's going to take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's going to take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's going to take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
@nowherejason
Come ride with me
Through the veins of history
I'll show you a god who
Falls asleep on the job
And how can we win
When fools can be kings
Don't waste your time
Or time will waste you
No one's gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
@bloodybagal
Come ride with me
Through the veins of history,
I'll show you how God
Falls asleep on the job
And how can we win,
When fools can be kings?
Don't waste your time
Or time will, waste, you...
No one's gonna take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's gonna take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
No one's gonna take me alive
Time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive
@Philpel2008
Movie references
Star Wars
The Good the Bad The Ugly
The Matrix
Batman
Planet of the Apes
Mad Max
Blade Runner
Lone Ranger
Maverick
Once Upon a Time in China
Battlestar Galactica
Five Deadly Venoms
Kung Fu
The Searchers
Westworld
Heavy Metal
@marinedude_06
"Don't waste your time or time will waste you" one of my favorite lyrics ever, so true.
@Michael80B
Sayed by the man writing comments on youtube ;)
@Michael80B
Sayed by the man writing comments on youtube ;)
@samuelmiller5457
@@Michael80B said by the man who can't spell
@petepentheus2851
It's Shakespeare. Richard II: 'I wasted time, now time doth waste me'
@miralex67
And they say Matt Bellamy isn't great lyricist. You can find at least one great lyric in every Muse song
@UTU
15 years later, still one of the best songs and music videos.
@axiomgr33ne
shit its that old
@Sternenmadchens
a