"Revol" is a song by

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

. It was released in August 1994 by record label

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

as the second single from their third studio album, '' The Holy Bible'', which was released later in the month. The song reached number 22 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 13 August 1994.

Music and lyrics

"Revol" has been categorized under the genres

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, punk rock and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

. The song's lyrics were written by rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards and bass guitarist

Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire s ...

. The verses list famous and controversial names in history, each being dismissed one-by-one in short and often insulting

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...

lines (such as " Chamberlain, you see God in you", "

Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...

, withdrawn traces, bye-bye", "

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

, you're all target now" and " Gorbachev, celibate self-importance"). The track may be considered an autobiographical account of Edwards' attempts to hold down any meaningful relationships. "Revol" is "lover" spelt backwards. The lyric also places the names of famous political figures next to images of failure in sexual and emotional relationships. Wire, however, has said not even he knows exactly what the song is about. James Dean Bradfield has previously been critical of the song, saying that he hates the UK version. He is, however, a fan of the "US Mix" by

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

, which can be found on the 10th Anniversary re-issue edition of ''The Holy Bible''.

Release

"Revol" was released on 1 August 1994 by record label Epic as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''The Holy Bible''. It reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart.

Track listings

CD single 1 # "Revol" – 3:07 # "Too Cold Here" – 3:35 # " You Love Us" (original Heavenly version) – 4:27 # " Love's Sweet Exile" (Bangkok live) – 3:05 CD single 2 # "Revol" – 3:07 # "Drug Drug Druggy" (live) – 3:27 # "

Roses in the Hospital "Roses in the Hospital" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in September 1993 by record label Epic as the third single from their second album, ''Gold Against the Soul''. Content Allison Clarke of ...

" (live) – 4:46 # "You Love Us" (live) – 3:04

Personnel

* James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, lead guitar * Richey James – rhythm guitar * Sean Moore – drums *

– bass guitar

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs Epic Records singles Macaronic songs Manic Street Preachers songs Political songs Songs based on actual events Songs written by James Dean Bradfield Songs written by Nicky Wire Songs written by Richey Edwards Songs written by Sean Moore (musician)