The Meaningless Meaning Behind Blur’s Joke-Gone-Right, “Song 2”

The hook to Blur’s biggest song doesn’t have words. And before they were duking it out with Oasis for control of the Britpop kingdom, Damon Albarn and his band were keeping the Madchester flame burning. That scene—leftover acid house and baggy beats—was gasping for its final breath. Hanging on to a deflated genre, Blur’s debut album sounded uninspired.

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When Blur returned home from a U.S. tour they saw the band Suede on the cover of every music magazine that mattered in the U.K. Albarn, whom the British press accused of being a man in search of a trend, was maddened by Suede’s hype. So he reinvented his band’s sound and look. Reacting against American grunge, the new Blur embraced Englishness.

Chasing a trend or not, Blur found its sound and Britpop was in full swing.

Blur vs. Oasis

During the 1990s, Blur and Oasis traded the top spots on the British music charts. However, Britpop’s death knell sounded with the third Oasis album Be Here Now (1997). Though the record was commercially successful, Britpop was waning.

So guitarist Graham Coxon, bored with Britpop, found a new vision in American indie bands like Pavement. Once again, Blur reinvented themselves. Their self-titled fifth album arrived in 1997 and “Song 2” became a smash hit. Emphasizing their homeland, Blur had revolted against American grunge dominance only to find a new sound back across the pond. 

[RELATED: Behind the Britpop Beef Between Oasis and Blur]

It Started as a Joke

Blur presented the song as a joke to their record label. Coxon assumed the label would think the song was too short and too extreme to release to radio. But to his surprise, the record company loved it.

Albarn explained the song’s origins on the Tape Notes podcast. He said it originally sounded like bossa nova with a softer “woo-hoo” chorus. But Coxon thought it sounded too nice and suggested they increase the tempo. Had added an outrageous amount of distortion, attempting to destroy Albarn’s acoustic song.

What Does “Song 2” Mean?

The song is track 2 on the album and its working title stuck.

Meanwhile, Albarn’s recorded vocal was meant only as a guide. According to producer Stephen Street, the singer is just “babbling” lyrics. The band later made attempts to refine the tune with more production but ultimately left it as-is. 

“I got my head checked
By a jumbo jet
It wasn’t easy
But nothing is, no.”

“Song 2” lasts only two minutes with two verses and two choruses. If you’ve witnessed Blur play it in front of a stadium full of people, it’s apparent the song emphasizes feeling over meaning. “Woo-hoo!”

A Two-Minute Anthem

“Song 2” feels like the release of pure joy. It’s also the sound of angst becoming bliss. A distorted F-you to the record company. After two reinventions, Blur, ironically, wrote their defining song which sounded very American.

Finally, with a two-minute anthem and a wordless chorus, Albarn found his voice and Blur left the shadow of Britpop—the cultural movement they helped launch.

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