Beguiled

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"Beguiled"
Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
Album
Lyrics
Lyrics
Tabs
Video
Spotify
Released2022-09-20
Length3:59
LabelMartha's Music
Songwriter(s)Billy Corgan
Producer(s)Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
"Purple Blood"
(2020) 		"Beguiled"
(2022) 		"Spellbinding"
(2023)
  1. Atum
  2. Butterfly Suite
  3. The Good In Goodbye
  4. Embracer
  5. With Ado I Do
  6. Hooligan
  7. Steps In Time
  8. Where Rain Must Fall
  9. Beyond The Vale
  10. Hooray!
  11. The Gold Mask
  12. Avalanche
  13. Empires
  14. Neophyte
  15. Moss
  16. Night Waves
  17. Space Age
  18. Every Morning
  19. To The Grays
  20. Beguiled
  21. The Culling
  22. Springtimes
  23. Sojourner
  24. That Which Animates The Spirit
  25. The Canary Trainer
  26. Pacer
  27. In Lieu Of Failure
  28. Cenotaph
  29. Harmageddon
  30. Fireflies
  31. Intergalatic
  32. Spellbinding
  33. Of Wings
  34. Simmatar
  35. Magdalena
  36. Saffron
  37. Zope
  38. Huzzah!
  39. Automaton
  40. MaryQ
  41. Burr
  42. Excelsior
  43. Necromance

"Beguiled" is the debut single from The Smashing Pumpkins' twelfth studio album, ATUM. The song debuted via a TikTok live stream on September 19, 2022.[1] The single and music video were released to streaming services the follow day.[2]

The song achieved great airplay success in the United States on the Billboard Charts, reaching number 7 on the Rock Airplay chart – the band's first top 10 hit since 2007's "Tarantula". In January 2023, the song also hit the top 20 of the Alternative Airplay chart, reaching number 12.

"Beguiled" was performed live for the first time on September 20, 2022 at the Metro, Chicago.[3] The song was performed by the band on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on September 22, 2022.[4]

Background and recording[edit | edit source]

The single was the first to be released from the studio album ATUM: A Rock Opera in Three Acts, a three-part concept album that acts as a sequel to 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 2000's Machina/The Machines of God and Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music.

The song is sung from the perspective of the Authoritarian of the story. In a September 20, 2022 interview with Kerrang, Billy Corgan described the Authoritarian as relaying propaganda to the masses "'Trust the message'. At the height of the pandemic, we kept saying trust the science. Having been in public life for 35 years, anytime anyone asks you to trust them, that's when I run. So it's a little bit like somebody saying, if you just have faith in what we stand for, everything will be fine."[2]

The guitar riff for "Beguiled" came to fruition very early in the demo sessions for ATUM. In the same interview with Kerrang magazine, Corgan described how the riff for the song came about and how the band in a rare move never changed the song from its initial inception, "...we never changed the tempo, which is very, very rare. Almost always you speed things up or whatever. But there's something about it being so slow that we just never changed. And that's probably the only thing on the entire record that didn't go through some sort of metamorphosis."[2]

Music video[edit | edit source]

Official music video

A live performance video debuted on a TikTok stream on September 19, 2022, and was formally released the following day. The video was directed by long-time band creative partner and Creative Director Linda Strawberry.[5]

Similarly to the music video for "Ava Adore", the music video for "Beguiled" was shot in one take, although it was streamed directly live over TikTok as opposed to filmed and edited post-production. The video features a mix of live band performance, performance artists, dancers and various friends and family members of the band such as Chloe Mendel her and Corgan's children, Frank Catalano, and members of NWA.

The edited version of the live performance music video premiered on YouTube on September 20, 2022 and serves as the song's official music video.[6]

Critical reception[edit | edit source]

Upon release the song received generally positive reviews. Writing for Billboard, Gil Kaufman called the song a "chugging, Black Sabbath-like single".[7] In a NME review for the song, writer Tom Skinner described the song previewing the upcoming album as "the swaggering, all-guns-blazing 'Beguiled', which sees the Pumpkins return to their gritty, guitar-led sound."[8] Guitar World writer Michael Astley-Brown said of the track; "Beguiled is a four-to-the-floor riffer that rarely lets up in its barrage of palm-muted chugs" and that it was "in the vein of classic Pumpkins cut Zero."[9]

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Main article: ATUM (synopsis)

(performed by Dr. Aesh with The X+I as chorus)

Within the story of ATUM, "Beguiled" takes place at Dr. Aesh's safehouse. Osirah and Nighthawk are sitting in the living room formulating a plan on when to leave, when Dr. Aesh interrupts them to say that he revealed their location to the X+I and that they are currently waiting outside the safehouse. "Beguiled" is Dr. Aesh reciting the values and propaganda the X+I have been feeding the general public. Dr. Aesh feels as if he is doing the right thing for society and them; as the X+I have promised Dr. Aesh that Osirah and Nighthawk will not not be harmed or spend the rest of their lives in prison. Osirah and Nighthawk feel utterly betrayed as Ruby the robot sits emotionless. Nighthawk decides, against Osirah's wishes, to turn himself in. He walks outside and around the house with his hands up. Through the exterior cameras, Osirah and Dr. Aesh watch in horror as Nighthawk is killed immediately by the X+I.[10]

Lyrics[edit | edit source]

So swallow hard the serpent
Of many tags and faces hid in masks
Coiled ‘round this lung until the last
He’ll crack your boots young pagans
‘Cause like you I was hatched to traipse on cold
And 17’s a long drawn way from hope

And I’ve learned these lessons I was taught
Taut, so taught
And now I’m telling you

Return the faith
Return the faith
They’re smashing out the veils
Return the faith
And there’s no escape
So return the faith
With charging light brigades
Return the faith
You’ve gotta move

So as betrayed by rainbows
Here I convey I’ve sold out your dear cause
And the king has placed us in his jaws
It’s sure no place can hold us
But in this scene I’m December
And your June’s wretch
And my idyls lay gasping as if death
And I’ve learned these lessons I was taught
Taut, so taught
And now I’m telling you
And I’ve learned these lessons I was taught
Taut, so taught
And now I’m telling you

Return the faith
Return the faith
They’re smashing out the veils
Return the faith
And there’s no escape
So return the faith
With charging light brigades
Return the faith
You’ve gotta move

Return the faith
Return the faith

Release[edit | edit source]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beguiled"Billy Corgan3:59
Released Label Catalog ID Format Country External sites
September 20, 2022 Martha's Music Digital Worldwide Discogs MusicBrainz [1]

More releases: MusicBrainz

Personnel[edit | edit source]

Charts[edit | edit source]

Chart (2022–2023) Peak
position
Canada Rock (Billboard)[11] 25
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[12] 12
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[13] 7
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[14] 7
US Alternative Digital songs (Billboard)[15] 20
US Hard Rock Digital songs (Billboard)[16] 16

Availability

TitleNotesType
BeguiledSingle
ATUMAct IIStudio

Tour stats

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Citn9irjw65/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ruskell, Nick (September 20, 2022). "Billy Corgan on new album ATUM: 'It goes in a million different directions… It doesn't feel like there's too much of any one thing'". Kerrang. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  3. ↑ Ryan, Jim (September 22, 2022). "Smashing Pumpkins Beguile During Special Homecoming Set At Metro Chicago". Forbes. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (September 24, 2022). "See Smashing Pumpkins Debut New Single 'Beguiled' on 'Fallon'". Forbes. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins: Beguiled (Music Video)". Film Affinity. September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  6. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins - Beguiled (Official Music Video)". YouTube. September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  7. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (September 20, 2022). "Smashing Pumpkins Drop Sabbath-like 'Beguiled,' Announce 33-Song 'ATUM' Rock Opera". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  8. ↑ Skinner, Tom (September 20, 2022). "Smashing Pumpkins release new single 'Beguiled' and tell us about their three-part 'rock opera', 'ATUM'". NME. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  9. ↑ Astley-Brown, Michael (September 20, 2022). "Smashing Pumpkins harness metal chugs and Whammy squeals in first track from upcoming sequel to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ Corgan, Billy. "Beguiled (with William Patrick Corgan)". Thirty-Three (Podcast). Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Alternative Digital songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  16. ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Hard Rock Digital songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2023.

External links[edit | edit source]

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