Songfacts®:

• This epic Muse song may have been based on George Orwell's book 1984. Lead singer Matt Bellamy has said of the song: "It's an expression of what it feels like to be questioned. I spend more time than most people being asked about purpose, and it's a strange feeling. I don't really have the answers and I have to respond on the knowledge I have obtained so far, but the problem is that it gets printed, and something else has come along that's made you completely disagree with what you said." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR
• Bellamy used a seven-string Manson guitar on the track, tuned to drop A tuning in standard variation. He also played the keyboards plus the piano-led coda that closes out the track. "Citizen Erased" was the first Muse song to feature a seven-string guitar.
  
  The other musicians are Bellamy's bandmates:
  
  Dominic Howard: drums
  Chris Wolstenholme: bass guitar, backing vocals
  
  And a string section comprising:
  
  Sara Herbert: violin
  Jacqueline Norrie: violin
  Caroline Lavelle: cello
• With a length of 7:21, this was the longest song in Muse's catalogue, until they recorded the 10:07 running "The Globalist" for Drones in 2015.
• "Citizen Erased" is a fan favorite. When Muse released Origin of Symmetry: XX Anniversary RemiXX n 2021, they dropped "Citizen Erased" as its lead single.