Song 2

The story behind

Song 2 by Blur is a song that, despite its enormous popularity, was born from an unconventional idea: a prank on their own record label. It was Graham Coxon, the guitarist, who suggested transforming an acoustic demo by Damon Albarn – which already included the distinctive whistled chorus – into a much faster and noisier piece. Coxon deliberately sought a guitar sound that was raw and unpolished. The intention was to present it as a single to "blow the minds" of the Food Records executives, but to the band's surprise, the reaction was very positive. Coxon himself admitted that they thought the song was "too extreme" to be commercially successful. The title Song 2, in fact, was a working title that simply indicated its position on the album's tracklist, and it stuck. The song has a duration of two minutes and two seconds, with two verses, two choruses, and that unmistakable hook where Damon Albarn exclaims "woo-hoo" just as the distorted bass enters.