Songfacts®:

• This raucous anthem is the sixth track from Muse's Drones, a concept record about a man being indoctrinated by the system to be a human drone. The LP starts with the protagonist losing hope and becoming dead inside. Then the album becomes increasingly darker with the third to sixth tracks tracks. "They're about being overcome by these oppressive forces," vocalist Matt Bellamy told Rolling Stone. "Midway through 'The Handler,' in the darkest places, the protagonist, or me, since I'm singing in the first person, feels this desire to actually feel something," he continued. "They decide, 'I don't want to be used by others. I don't want to be controlled. I don't want to be a cold, non-feeling person. I want to actually feel something.' The desire to fight against the oppressors sinks in."
• The song features a middle section that harks back to the title track from Muse's 1999 debut, Showbiz. "The lyrics are almost a question and answer with that song," Matt Bellamy told Q magazine.