‘Song 2’ is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their self-titled fifth studio album. Released physically on 7 April 1997, ‘Song 2’ peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian Chart, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart (now called the Alternative Airplay chart). At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, ‘Song 2’ was nominated for Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video. At the 1998 Brit Awards, the song was nominated for Best British Single, and Best British Video. In 1998, BBC Radio 1 listeners voted ‘Song 2’ the 15th Best Track Ever. In 2011, NME placed it number 79 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
According to Graham Coxon, ‘Song 2’ was intended to be a joke on the record company. Damon Albarn had recorded an acoustic demo of the song which was slower but featured the song's distinctive "woo-hoo" chorus in whistle form. Coxon then suggested that they pump up the speed and perform the song loudly, with Coxon deliberately seeking out an amateurish guitar sound. From there, Coxon told Albarn to tell the record company that they wanted to release the song as a single to "blow the flipping record labels' heads off". To Coxon's surprise, record executives reacted positively. When asked if the band had any idea of the song's commercial appeal, Coxon replied, "We'd just thought it was way too extreme".
The track was originally nicknamed ‘Song 2’ as a working title which represented its slot in the track-list, but the name stuck. The song is two minutes and two seconds long, with two verses, two choruses and a hook featuring Albarn yelling "woo-hoo!" as the distorted bass comes in. It is the second song on Blur's self-titled album, as well as Blur: The Best Of, and was the second single released from the former album.
In the UK, ‘Song 2’ built upon the success of Blur's chart-topping single ‘Beetlebum’ to reach number two in the charts. It was also popular on radio stations in the US; consequently, it went at number 55 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, number 6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, staying on that chart for 26 weeks, and number 25 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It also placed number two on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1997 in Australia. The song is atypical of Blur's previous style. The song's intro has been called Graham Coxon's "finest moment". NME ranked ‘Song 2’ at number two in its end-of-year list of the Top 20 Singles of 1997, and later listed it as one of the best songs from the 1990s.
‘Song 2’ was used in an episode of The Simpsons in a scene where Homer and the guys go to the Super Bowl. It also appeared on the South Park episode "Stanley's Cup." The song was also featured in many trailers for the movie Starship Troopers. As is becoming common, the song did not appear in the film itself. It was most notably used in the Charlie’s Angels movie (2000) during a fight scene involving Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and some thugs.
Labels – Food, Parlophone
Songwriters – Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree
Producer – Stephen Street
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Woo-hoo
Woo-hoo
Woo-hoo
Woo-hoo
[Verse 1]
I got my head checked
By a jumbo jet
It wasn't easy
But nothing is, no
[Chorus]
(Woo-hoo) When I feel heavy metal
(Woo-hoo) And I'm pins and I'm needles
(Woo-hoo) Well, I lie and I'm easy
All of the time, but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you
[Verse 2]
I got my head done
When I was young
It's not my problem
It's not my problem
[Chorus]
(Woo-hoo) When I feel heavy metal
(Woo-hoo) And I'm pins and I'm needles
(Woo-hoo) Well, I lie and I'm easy
All of the time, but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you
[Outro]
Yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah
Oh, yeah