"Shoot the Dog" is a song by British singer-songwriter George Michael, released as the second single from his fifth and final studio album, Patience, though released a year and a half prior to the album. It was his last release for Polydor Records, after which he departed from that label and returned to Sony Music, on which the album Patience, including the song "Shoot the Dog", was released. The song is a protest song referring to (and critical of) British Prime Minister Tony Blair and American President George W. Bush. Released on 29 July 2002, it peaked at number one in Denmark and number 12 in the United Kingdom.
'Shoot the Dog' is simply my attempt to contribute to the public debate that I feel should be taking place regarding Iraq and Saddam Hussein. [...] I have tried to convey my message with humour, because the public is rightfully scared of these issues, and humour has often been a useful aide to political debate.[2]
Music videoEdit
The music video featured animation provided by the satirical British cartoon series 2DTV. It originally premiered on ITV after the episode "Series 2, Episode 6" on 2 July 2002, and was the number-one music video on rotation on MTV between July and August 2002.[3] Following the death of George Michael on 25 December 2016, the music video was broadcast by MTV Classic in the United States.[4]
This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material.(September 2023)
"Shoot the Dog' is a protest song referring to (and critical of) British Prime Minister Tony Blair and American President George W. Bush, who are both spoofed in the song's music video
The video starts off in the White House, where President George W. Bush is given an explanation about the current state of affairs in the world. Bush (depicted behaving like a naïve child) has not understood a word of it, so a general re-explains everything with the use of a hand puppet. Then the song starts and George Michael enters the White House, leaving the men's toilet (in reference to the scandal of April 1998 where Michael was caught during a lewd act in a toilet). He, Bush and the general start dancing to the music before Michael leaves the scenery. In the next scene, Michael leaves his house (dressed like Homer Simpson) and is bullied by his neighbour and his dog. Back home that night, the neighbour goes on tormenting him by playing loud music, which irritates George Michael and his family members (who are all clones of himself, and are dressed like The Simpsons). Then Michael/Homer chases the dog with a water gun, only to be shot himself. Three drag queen versions of Michael (of which one of them looks like Marge Simpson) start dancing to the music, only to be bothered by Geri Halliwell.
Next, Michael (as himself) walks to the White House lawn where President Bush throws a ball so his dog can fetch it. Prime MinisterTony Blair chases and fetches the ball instead, cuddled by Bush in reward. Michael continues his walk and enters Iraq where he accidentally steps on a missile, launched to England, while Saddam Hussein praises the act. Michael rides the missile (possibly in homage to Major Kong's final scene in Dr. Strangelove), until it crashes in Blair's bedroom where Cherie Blair tries to get his attention, but Blair is only interested in Bush, who suddenly crawls into their bed. In the following scene, three versions of George Michael dance next to each other (all are references to other periods of his musical career). Back on the White House lawn, Blair tries to fetch another ball thrown by Bush, but it changes into a missile (in a reference to the video Californication) which then crashes into the Michael/Simpsons' house. There, Blair watches television with the family. Trevor McDonald announces a world war, but shrugs his shoulders not knowing what to do. Blair changes the channel to the Golden Jubilee, where Elizabeth II and Prince Charles are seen greeting people from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Now with a hairstyle similar to Philip Oakey, Michael jumps on the balcony and starts dancing with The Queen and one of her corgis. Prince Charles tries to do the same, but moves completely out of rhythm. Then the Queen's crown falls of her head and lands on Charles'. He is excited, but then is bitten in the behind by the dog. Meanwhile, Michael jumps at two large groups of soldiers. He sticks flowers in their guns (a reference to the famous picture of hippie protesters by Bernie Boston) and then strips to his underwear, before jumping onto Cherie Blair's bed. She quickly changes the television channel, and the scene changes to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, with David Beckham and Paul Scholes playing soccer.
Tony Blair appears in American football attire, and changes the football into an American football before leaving the stadium. Pierluigi Collina gives him a red card, while David Seaman starts crying. While Michael seduces Cherie, Tony Blair uses the United Kingdom as a speedboat to annex his country to the United States. In the final scene, Michael dances in a cowboy outfit, joined by Bush and Blair, before the two politicians leave the scene together. Then other clones of Michael jump in to join him, until they all resemble the Village People. Bush and Blair re-enter the scene dancing the tango together, and the song ends. Back at the White House, President Bush liked the song so much, that he asks his general to repeat everything. The general is not pleased.
Track listingsEdit
UK, South African, Australian, and Japanese CD single[5][6][7]
"Land of Confusion" by Genesis (a protest song that featured caricatures of celebrities and politicians, provided by Spitting Image, in the music video)
^"You Have Been Loved: Remembering George Michael, the Icon". Albumism. 27 December 2016.
^"CNN.com - George Michael defends 'Shoot the Dog' - July 5, 2002". edition.cnn.com.
^"Michael denies attack on Bush". bbc.co.uk. 5 July 2002. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
^"This trippy, animated George Michael music video about Bush and Blair's 'romance' is the best one he made". metro.co.uk. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
^Shoot the Dog (South African CD single liner notes). George Michael. Polydor Records. 2002. MAXCD 395.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Shoot the Dog (Japanese CD single liner notes). George Michael. Polydor Records. 2002. UICP 5017.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Shoot the Dog (UK cassette single sleeve). George Michael. Polydor Records. 2002. 570 924 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Shoot the Dog (European DVD single liner notes). George Michael. Polydor Records, Universal Music Group. 2002. 5709839.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Shoot the Dog (Japanese DVD single liner notes). George Michael. Polydor Records, Universal Music Group. 2002. UIBP-5004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. 27 September 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Tracklisten. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 34. 17 August 2002. p. 18. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"The Irish Charts – Search Results – Shoot the Dog". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 36. 31 August 2002. p. 13. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 17 February 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"New Releases – For Week Starting 29 July 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 July 2002. p. 31. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
^"The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 05/08/2002" (PDF). ARIA. 5 August 2002. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2002. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
^"シュート・ザ・ドッグ | ジョージ・マイケル" [Shoot the Dog | George Michael] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ [New Release Date List for December 2002] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on 9 June 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
October 21, 2023
shoot, song, british, singer, songwriter, george, michael, released, second, single, from, fifth, final, studio, album, patience, though, released, year, half, prior, album, last, release, polydor, records, after, which, departed, from, that, label, returned, . Shoot the Dog is a song by British singer songwriter George Michael released as the second single from his fifth and final studio album Patience though released a year and a half prior to the album It was his last release for Polydor Records after which he departed from that label and returned to Sony Music on which the album Patience including the song Shoot the Dog was released The song is a protest song referring to and critical of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and American President George W Bush Released on 29 July 2002 it peaked at number one in Denmark and number 12 in the United Kingdom Shoot the Dog Single by George Michaelfrom the album PatienceReleased29 July 2002 2002 07 29 GenreSynth pop 1 Length5 01LabelPolydorSongwriter s George Michael Philip Oakey Ian BurdenProducer s George MichaelGeorge Michael singles chronology Freeek 2002 Shoot the Dog 2002 Amazing 2004 The music video for the song is completely animated The single marked 20 years since the release of Wham s first single Wham Rap Enjoy What You Do another politically charged song written by Michael Shoot the Dog samples the Human League song Love Action I Believe in Love It also samples the That s right vocal from Silver Convention s Get Up and Boogie as well as the Gotta get up vocal from Michael s own song Fastlove 1996 Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Music video 2 1 Synopsis 3 Track listings 4 Charts 5 Release history 6 See also 7 ReferencesLyrics EditMichael has said of the song Shoot the Dog is simply my attempt to contribute to the public debate that I feel should be taking place regarding Iraq and Saddam Hussein I have tried to convey my message with humour because the public is rightfully scared of these issues and humour has often been a useful aide to political debate 2 Music video EditThe music video featured animation provided by the satirical British cartoon series 2DTV It originally premiered on ITV after the episode Series 2 Episode 6 on 2 July 2002 and was the number one music video on rotation on MTV between July and August 2002 3 Following the death of George Michael on 25 December 2016 the music video was broadcast by MTV Classic in the United States 4 Synopsis Edit The template below Summarize section is being considered for merging See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus This section may be too long and excessively detailed Please consider summarizing the material September 2023 nbsp Shoot the Dog is a protest song referring to and critical of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and American President George W Bush who are both spoofed in the song s music videoThe video starts off in the White House where President George W Bush is given an explanation about the current state of affairs in the world Bush depicted behaving like a naive child has not understood a word of it so a general re explains everything with the use of a hand puppet Then the song starts and George Michael enters the White House leaving the men s toilet in reference to the scandal of April 1998 where Michael was caught during a lewd act in a toilet He Bush and the general start dancing to the music before Michael leaves the scenery In the next scene Michael leaves his house dressed like Homer Simpson and is bullied by his neighbour and his dog Back home that night the neighbour goes on tormenting him by playing loud music which irritates George Michael and his family members who are all clones of himself and are dressed like The Simpsons Then Michael Homer chases the dog with a water gun only to be shot himself Three drag queen versions of Michael of which one of them looks like Marge Simpson start dancing to the music only to be bothered by Geri Halliwell Next Michael as himself walks to the White House lawn where President Bush throws a ball so his dog can fetch it Prime Minister Tony Blair chases and fetches the ball instead cuddled by Bush in reward Michael continues his walk and enters Iraq where he accidentally steps on a missile launched to England while Saddam Hussein praises the act Michael rides the missile possibly in homage to Major Kong s final scene in Dr Strangelove until it crashes in Blair s bedroom where Cherie Blair tries to get his attention but Blair is only interested in Bush who suddenly crawls into their bed In the following scene three versions of George Michael dance next to each other all are references to other periods of his musical career Back on the White House lawn Blair tries to fetch another ball thrown by Bush but it changes into a missile in a reference to the video Californication which then crashes into the Michael Simpsons house There Blair watches television with the family Trevor McDonald announces a world war but shrugs his shoulders not knowing what to do Blair changes the channel to the Golden Jubilee where Elizabeth II and Prince Charles are seen greeting people from the balcony of Buckingham Palace Now with a hairstyle similar to Philip Oakey Michael jumps on the balcony and starts dancing with The Queen and one of her corgis Prince Charles tries to do the same but moves completely out of rhythm Then the Queen s crown falls of her head and lands on Charles He is excited but then is bitten in the behind by the dog Meanwhile Michael jumps at two large groups of soldiers He sticks flowers in their guns a reference to the famous picture of hippie protesters by Bernie Boston and then strips to his underwear before jumping onto Cherie Blair s bed She quickly changes the television channel and the scene changes to the 2002 FIFA World Cup with David Beckham and Paul Scholes playing soccer Tony Blair appears in American football attire and changes the football into an American football before leaving the stadium Pierluigi Collina gives him a red card while David Seaman starts crying While Michael seduces Cherie Tony Blair uses the United Kingdom as a speedboat to annex his country to the United States In the final scene Michael dances in a cowboy outfit joined by Bush and Blair before the two politicians leave the scene together Then other clones of Michael jump in to join him until they all resemble the Village People Bush and Blair re enter the scene dancing the tango together and the song ends Back at the White House President Bush liked the song so much that he asks his general to repeat everything The general is not pleased Track listings EditUK South African Australian and Japanese CD single 5 6 7 Shoot the Dog explicit album version Shoot the Dog Moogymen mix Shoot the Dog Alexkid Shoot the Radio remix Shoot the Dog video UK cassette single 8 Shoot the Dog explicit album version Shoot the Dog Moogymen remix European and Japanese DVD single 9 10 Shoot the Dog 5 35 Freeek 4 33Charts EditChart 2002 PeakpositionAustralia ARIA 11 36Austria O3 Austria Top 40 12 41Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 13 46Belgium Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia 14 1Canada Nielsen SoundScan 15 31Denmark Tracklisten 16 1Europe European Hot 100 Singles 17 28France SNEP 18 59Germany Official German Charts 19 44Hungary Single Top 40 20 7Ireland IRMA 21 23Italy FIMI 22 5Netherlands Single Top 100 23 26Portugal AFP 24 2Romania Romanian Top 100 25 21Scotland OCC 26 15Spain PROMUSICAE 27 4Sweden Sverigetopplistan 28 39Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 29 14UK Singles OCC 30 12Release history EditRegion Version Date Format s Label s Ref United Kingdom Shoot the Dog 29 July 2002 CDcassette Polydor 31 Australia 5 August 2002 CD 32 Japan 21 August 2002 33 Shoot the Dog Freeek 4 December 2002 DVD 34 See also Edit Land of Confusion by Genesis a protest song that featured caricatures of celebrities and politicians provided by Spitting Image in the music video Poodle insult List of number one songs of the 2000s Denmark References Edit You Have Been Loved Remembering George Michael the Icon Albumism 27 December 2016 CNN com George Michael defends Shoot the Dog July 5 2002 edition cnn com Michael denies attack on Bush bbc co uk 5 July 2002 Retrieved 9 May 2019 This trippy animated George Michael music video about Bush and Blair s romance is the best one he made metro co uk 26 December 2016 Retrieved 9 May 2019 Shoot the Dog UK amp Australian CD single liner notes George Michael Polydor Records 2002 570 92 42 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Shoot the Dog South African CD single liner notes George Michael Polydor Records 2002 MAXCD 395 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Shoot the Dog Japanese CD single liner notes George Michael Polydor Records 2002 UICP 5017 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Shoot the Dog UK cassette single sleeve George Michael Polydor Records 2002 570 924 4 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Shoot the Dog European DVD single liner notes George Michael Polydor Records Universal Music Group 2002 5709839 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Shoot the Dog Japanese DVD single liner notes George Michael Polydor Records Universal Music Group 2002 UIBP 5004 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link George Michael Shoot the Dog ARIA Top 50 Singles Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog in German O3 Austria Top 40 Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog in French Ultratip Retrieved 30 December 2016 Canadian Digital Song Sales Billboard 27 September 2003 Retrieved 11 December 2018 George Michael Shoot the Dog Tracklisten Retrieved 30 December 2016 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 20 no 34 17 August 2002 p 18 Retrieved 5 October 2020 George Michael Shoot the Dog in French Les classement single Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved 30 December 2016 Archivum Slagerlistak MAHASZ in Hungarian Single track Top 40 lista Magyar Hanglemezkiadok Szovetsege Retrieved 30 December 2016 The Irish Charts Search Results Shoot the Dog Irish Singles Chart Retrieved 27 January 2020 George Michael Shoot the Dog Top Digital Download Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved 30 December 2016 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 20 no 36 31 August 2002 p 13 Retrieved 5 October 2020 Arhiva romanian top 100 Editia 40 saptamina 7 10 13 10 2002 in Romanian Romanian Top 100 Archived from the original on 17 February 2005 Retrieved 5 October 2020 Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog Canciones Top 50 Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog Singles Top 100 Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Shoot the Dog Swiss Singles Chart Retrieved 30 December 2016 George Michael Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved 30 December 2016 New Releases For Week Starting 29 July 2002 Singles PDF Music Week 27 July 2002 p 31 Retrieved 26 August 2021 The ARIA Report New Releases Singles Week Commencing 05 08 2002 PDF ARIA 5 August 2002 p 26 Archived from the original PDF on 6 August 2002 Retrieved 26 August 2021 シュート ザ ドッグ ジョージ マイケル Shoot the Dog George Michael in Japanese Oricon Retrieved 29 August 2023 新譜発売日一覧 2002年 12月分 New Release Date List for December 2002 in Japanese Universal Music Japan Archived from the original on 9 June 2003 Retrieved 28 August 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shoot the 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