Corrupt, you corrupt
Bring corruption to all that you touch
Hold, you'll behold
And beholden for all that you've done

And spell, cast a spell
And cast a spell on the country you run
And risk, you will risk
You will risk all their lives and their souls

And burn, you will burn
You will burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell for your sins

Ooh, and our freedom's consuming itself
What we become is contrary to what we want
Take a bow

Death, you bring death
And destruction to all that you touch
Pay, you must pay
You must pay for your crimes against the earth

And Hex, feed the Hex
Feed the Hex on the country you love
And beg, you will beg
You will beg for their lives and their souls

And burn, you will burn
You will burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell
You'll burn in hell
Yeah, you'll burn in hell for your sins


Lyrics submitted by spiritmuse

Take a Bow Lyrics as written by Matt Bellamy

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Take a Bow song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

102 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +8
    General Comment

    I seriously don't get how so many people can comment on this song and 99% of everything everyone has said is completely wrong. Some people are on the right track but still, no. If you don't know anything about the new world order you have no business being a muse fan. You can't truly understand 60% of all muse's lyrics unless you know Matts beliefs. First off, its not about Osama (Everyone who said that should slap themselves in the face) and its not really about bush. Matt is a strong believer in the New World Order conspiracy (even though its not a conspiracy, its a fact). Matt knows that presidents and politicians aren't the ones who control and lead the country. Its really top bankers and heads of major corporations who secretly run the politicians and the world and have a long term goal for creating a one world government. These people are in control of politicians, the military and the media. They are master planners and have been stealing the wealth of every country in the world without 90% of Americans knowing whats going on. Not only was 911 planned by these people but so has almost every major war in the last 100 years. They are able to manipulate media and cast a "hex" on the populations to where know one knows whats happening in their own backyards. These people are in the process of destroying America right now financially. Hes saying you will burn in hell (the secret government members) Research the new world order and youll realize that much more than half of muse songs are political. Their newest album is titled "the resistance". This means the resistance to global tyranny and the lose of all our freedoms and constitution. Most bands don't really talk about the real issues such as these which makes muse one of my favorite bands. Matt actually went on the Alex Jones show one time for an interview. Alex Jones is a radio show host who breaks all of this down. You can listen to his interview. Youtube Alex Jones Matt Bellamy. And go to Infowars.com and listen everyday and learn as much as you can because i promise you people, we don't have a lot of time left. It's worse than anyone can imagine. If you call me crazy, you'll have to call Matt crazy. Good luck leaving the Matrix. Sometimes i wish i never learned about any of this stuff. It's made life so scary to live knowing how close to the end we all are. Good luck.

    samsonslmpsonon December 08, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The line "take a bow" seems like it's telling the "you" person to hurry up and finish the performance, so to speak, i.e. leave Iraq. x) Dunno if there'll be any applause if they do bow out, though; the song also gives the feeling that the "you" person has already damned themselves beyond redemption.

    Hannaelon July 17, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    In support of the above comment: "Take A Bow calls on world leaders to take responsibility for their actions" from musewiki.org/Take_aBow%28song%29

    anon223on July 26, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Muse are a British band, and I think this was inspired by Blair (no, that's not a compliment to him). "contrary to what we want": how many people walked the streets of London to protest against the war on Iraq? How many people want Blair to remove himself from Bush's ****, engage his own brain and do what we, the people in the country he "runs", want? In any case, this is a FANTASTIC track on an INSPIRED album that's growing on me every time I hear it.

    the_anomieon July 30, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Huzzah, first comment! I do enjoy this song. Seems to be about corrupt rulers etc. Great to hear some fresh muse stuff.

    hastalavictoriaon June 13, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I wonder if this song is about our real political leaders? Bellamy seems pretty obsessed with the notion of revolution and failure of leadership on this CD...

    Interesting that it starts off with that little repeating digital noise, similar in a way to the way Origin of Symmetry begins. A review I read said that this song is the link to Absolution - I sort of agree, track 2 starts moving in a totally different direction with a dancier, more electronic feel. But then the whole album swings back towards awesome space-cowboy-opera rock.

    caitsith01on June 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really think that it's more like Absolution peppered with a a certain political feel. The new CD is excellent. And this is a fantastic opener.

    Elan Morin Tedronaion June 16, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Some minor issues with these lyrics, here are the correct ones:

    Corrupt You corrupt Bring corruption to all that you touch

    Hold You'll behold And beholden for all that you've done

    And spell Cast a spell Cast a spell on the country you run

    And risk You will risk You will risk all their lives and their souls

    And burn You will burn You will burn in hell yeah You'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell Yeah you'll burn in hell for your sins

    An our freedom's consuming itself What we become is contrary to what we want Take a bow

    Death You bring death And destruction to all that you touch

    Pay You must pay You must pay for your crimes against the earth

    Hex Feed the hex Feed the hex on the country you love

    Yeah and beg You will beg You will beg for their lives and their souls

    Yeah and burn You will burn You will burn in hell yeah You'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell yeah You'll burn in hell You'll burn in hell Yeah you will burn for all your sins

    This is like the overture to the entire album. Makes a great link to Soldier's Poem- "you will risk all their lives and their souls", "you bring death and destruction to all that you touch". These sentiments can be true of any invasion on a large scale. War is bad for soldiers, bad for those at home, and those being invaded- that seems to be the message of this piece. The leaders will "burn in hell" because they justified their war by "casting a spell"- lying. The sort of magic, unnatural diction is continued in the lyrics "crimes against the earth" and "feed the hex".

    "An our freedom's consuming itself What we become is contrary to what we want"

    Very important lyrics. Deals with the theme that rights must be given up to preserve freedom- almost a total contradiction.

    chat-noiron June 29, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That's bollocks mate, what the hell does "Feed the hex on the country you love" mean. It's "hate" but pronounced quite strangely, I admit.

    Triskaidekaphobiaon June 29, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    no, it's definatley hex. Check your sources.

    _bene_on June 30, 2006   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.