About
Blasphemy appears on Reality Killed The Video Star and was released as a promotional single in early 2010. Though not a major chart entry, it became one of the album’s most discussed tracks due to its lyrical depth and collaboration with Guy Chambers, marking their first co-writing credit together since 2002. The song was performed live at the BBC Electric Proms and on Williams’s 2009 promotional tour.
Written by Williams and Guy Chambers, with production by Trevor Horn, the ballad centres on piano and string arrangements. It was recorded at Sarm Studios in London and features a prominent orchestral score that recalls the pair’s earlier work on songs such as Angels and Feel. Critics noted Horn’s restrained production, allowing Williams’s vocal delivery and the introspective lyric to dominate.
Lyrically, Blasphemy reflects on lost innocence and disillusionment. Its narrative voice looks back on youth and idealism, questioning the value of rebellion and the meaning of faith in adulthood. The song’s title refers to the careless rejection of beliefs once held sacred, expressed through lines such as “Was it a blast for you? / Let me laugh for you.”
“It’s about how you can throw away the important things in your life without even realising you’re doing it.”Robbie Williams
Blasphemy was widely viewed as a highlight of the album, praised for reuniting Williams with Guy Chambers and for its lyrical maturity. The Guardian described it as “melancholy and self-aware, the work of an artist rediscovering his voice.” It stands as one of the most personal and musically refined moments on the record.
Lyrics
The Romans did what they did
Now everything's come down to this
It's just you and I our kin
We could send a million to the moon
But why can't I get on with you
Cellophane around my mouth
Stops the anger sipping out
Our deaf and dumb dinners
Gravy in the mud
No singles just fillers
Sometimes I wish I could
But I can't behave
I know it's not the heathen in me
It's just that I've been bleeding lately
Internally
Don't turn to me
Bite your tongue the torrid weapon
You could learn a useful lesson
What's so great about the Great Depression
Is it a blast for you
Blasphemy
Words cut like a knife throughVaseline
You can't really mean what you mean
When you say what you say
So tourettes make them come out that way
Wish I was here well I wish you weren't
Your gift of anger's better burnt
If nothing's said then nothing's learnt
I though I wasn't but I'm really hurting
Our deaf and dumb dinners
There's gravy in the mud
And I can't behave
No it's not the heathen in me
It's just that I've been bleeding lately
Internally
Don't turn to me
Bite my tongue the torrid weapon
We could learn a useful lesson
What's so great about the Great Depression
Was it a blast for you
Blasphemy
A great adventure Christmas in the snow
Senile Dementia maybe what a way to go
I can't behave
I know it's not the heathen in me
It's just that I've been bleeding lately
Internally
So turn to me
Bite your tongue your torrid weapon
We could learn a useful lesson
In a greatness great depression
It's not a blast for me
It's blasphemy
Credits
-
Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers