Poison (The Prodigy song)

"Poison"
Single by The Prodigy
from the album Music for the Jilted Generation
Released	6 March 1995
Format	12 inch vinyl record CD single
Recorded	Essex, England, 1994
Length	4:05 (95 EQ) 6:42 (album version)
Label	XL Recordings
Writer(s)	Liam Howlett, Keith Palmer
Producer(s)	Liam Howlett
The Prodigy singles chronology
"Voodoo People" (1994) "Poison" (1995) "Firestarter" (1996)

"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 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, "Heavy Soul Slinger" by Bernard Purdie, and "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught" by Incredible Bongo Band.

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.^[1] The theme of rat poison even goes into the music as the official remix of "Poison" is dubbed "Rat Poison".

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

1. "Poison" (95 EQ) – 6:12 [edited 4:05 version on CD edition]
2. "Rat Poison" – 5:34
3. "Scienide" – 5:54
4. "Poison" (Environmental Science Dub Mix) – 6:18

• Tracks 1-2 and 4 written by Liam Howlett and Keith Palmer. Track 2 remixed by Liam Howlett. Track 4 remix and additional production by Environmental Science
• Track 3 written by Liam Howlett

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”.^[2]

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.^[3]

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[4]	64
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[5]	1
Ireland (IRMA)	3
Norway (VG-lista)[6]	5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7]	24
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[8]	23
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[9]	15

References

1. "Poison" CD single
2. Saxelby, Ruth. "Clark: Feast / Beast". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
3. Australian-charts.com - International Chart Positions
4. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
5. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
6. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Prodigy – Poison". VG-lista.
7. "Swedishcharts.com – The Prodigy – Poison". Singles Top 100.
8. "Swisscharts.com – The Prodigy – Poison". Swiss Singles Chart.
9. "Archive Chart: 1995-05-23" UK Singles Chart.