Released 6 March 1995 Label XL Recordings | Recorded Essex, England, 1994 | |
Format 12 inch vinyl record
CD single Length 4:05 (95 EQ)
6:42 (album version) Writer(s) Liam Howlett, Keith Palmer | ||
"Poison" is a song by The Prodigy, released as the group's ninth single on 6 March 1995. It was the fourth and final single from the album Music for the Jilted Generation. Maxim Reality provides the vocals for this track. The song was featured in the soundtrack of film, most notably End of Days. The CD singles art follows a theme similar to the song: rat poison. The front cover features a box of said poison, the back shows a picture of a dead and decomposing rodent, and the CD itself has a rat superimposed onto it. The theme of rat poison even goes into the music as the official remix of "Poison" is dubbed "Rat Poison".
Contents
Composition
The drums in the song are samples from "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps (which later became well known as the beat to the track Clubbed to Death, which was used as the theme tune to The Matrix), "Amen Brother" by The Winstons, and "Heavy Soul Slinger" by Bernard Purdie.
Music video
The music video was directed by Walter Stern. The band performs the track in a basement-like location. By the end of the video, the floor has turned into a mud-bath where Keith Flint is mud wrestling with other band members. The music video was also shown on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head.
Track listing
- "Poison" (95 EQ) – 6:12 [edited 4:05 version on CD edition]
- "Rat Poison" – 5:34
- "Scienide" – 5:54
- "Poison" (Environmental Science Dub Mix) – 6:18
Legacy
The introductory lyrics "Liam, someone on the phone for you / Aw fuck's sake, tryin' to write this fuckin' tune, man" were parodied by Clark on his remix of Milanese's “Mr Bad News”, where voices with affected posh English accents intunes “Christopher, somebody's on the telephone for you / Oh for fuck’s sake, I’m trying to write this fucking tune, man”.
Electronic rock band Does It Offend You, Yeah? also make reference to the track's opening conversation on their song 'We Are the Dead' from their album Don't Say We Didn't Warn You.
Chart performance
"Poison" reached number-one in Finland and was a top five hit in Norway. The song also reached #24 in Sweden, and #23 in Switzerland.