Muzzle

"Muzzle" is a promotional single by The Smashing Pumpkins for their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was one of the last songs written by Billy Corgan for Mellon Collie, with the song's lyrics referring to what Corgan thought the public's perception was of him at the time. It was rumored to be the Smashing Pumpkins fifth and final single from this album, as is evidenced by the fact that a promotional single for the song was issued to radio stations worldwide. However, the song "Thirty-Three" was released as the fifth and final single instead. The band went on to perform "Muzzle" for their next television appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with replacement drummer, Matt Walker.

There was a rumor that a music video was actually filmed for "Muzzle" with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, but was never released. Billy Corgan has, however, denied this.

Composition
Originally composed on piano, "Muzzle" was one of the last songs written for Mellon Collie. Corgan has said it took a lot of convincing to get Jimmy Chamberlin to play with such "joyful abandon" on the drum fills, and it was this persistence that opened the door for Chamberlin to express himself emotionally instead of just focusing on technical precision. Ultimately Corgan considers the song among the best examples on Mellon Collie of the band coming together to quickly form ideas "from doleful sea shanties into epic rockets."

Lyrically, Corgan has said "Muzzle" was partially written as a proactive attack on critics who he felt were going to hear Mellon Collie and tell him to "shut up". The song title has a literal meaning, as Corgan explained: "The idea of a muzzle refers to thinking my life would be far simpler if I just kept my trap shut."

The outro lyrics could be interpreted as spiritual language reminiscent of Hinduism. Corgan wrote that the repeating vocal lines with slight variations may have been a nod to Bob Dylan, but the true musical inspiration is unclear.