Poison (The Prodigy song)

"Poison"
Single by The Prodigy
from the album Music for the Jilted Generation
Released 6 March 1995
Format
Recorded 1994
Genre Big beat[1]
Length 4:05 (95 EQ)
6:42 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Liam Howlett
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Voodoo People"
(1994)		 "Poison"
(1995)		 "Firestarter"
(1996)

"Voodoo People"
(1994)		 "Poison"
(1995)		 "Firestarter"
(1996)

"Poison" is a song by English electronic music group The Prodigy, released on 6 March 1995 as the fourth and final single from their second studio album Music for the Jilted Generation (1994). Maxim Reality provides the vocals for this track.

The song was featured in the 1999 film End of Days. The packaging for the CD single follows a theme similar to the song: rat poison. The front cover features a box of said poison, the back shows a picture of a dead and decomposing rodent, and the CD itself has a rat superimposed onto it. The theme of rat poison ties into the music, as the official remix of the song is dubbed “Rat Poison”.

Composition

The drums in the song are samples from "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps, "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons, and "Heavy Soul Slinger" by Bernard Purdie.

Music video

The music video was directed by Walter Stern. The band performs the track in a basement-like location. By the end of the video, the floor has turned into a mud-bath where Keith Flint is mud wrestling with other band members. The music video was also shown on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head.

Track listing

  1. "Poison" (95 EQ) – 6:12 [edited 4:05 version on CD edition]
  2. "Rat Poison" – 5:34
  3. "Scienide" – 5:54
  4. "Poison" (Environmental Science Dub Mix) – 6:18
  • Tracks 1-2 and 4 written by Liam Howlett and Keith Palmer. Track 2 remixed by Liam Howlett. Track 4 remix and additional production by Environmental Science
  • Track 3 written by Liam Howlett

Legacy

The spoken words on the introductory of the album version :

"Liam, someone on the phone for you / Aw fuck's sake, tryin' to write this fuckin' tune, man"

They were parodied by Clark on his remix of Milanese's “Mr Bad News”, where a voices with an affected received pronunciation English accent say “Christopher, somebody's on the telephone for you / Oh for fuck’s sake, I’m trying to write this fucking tune, man”.[2]

Electronic rock band Does It Offend You, Yeah? also make reference to the track's opening conversation on their song "We Are the Dead" from their album Don't Say We Didn't Warn You.

Chart performance

"Poison" reached number-one in Finland and was a top five hit in Norway. The song also reached #24 in Sweden, and #23 in Switzerland.[3]

Charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 64
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 1
Ireland (IRMA) 3
Norway (VG-lista)[6] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 24
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] 23
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[9] 15

References

  1. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/dec/20/the-prodigy-review
  2. ↑ Saxelby, Ruth. "Clark: Feast / Beast". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Australian-charts.com - International Chart Positions
  4. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 23 July 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 1 June 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  5. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  6. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Prodigy – Poison". VG-lista.
  7. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Prodigy – Poison". Singles Top 100.
  8. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Prodigy – Poison". Swiss Singles Chart.
  9. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
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