Munich (song)

"Munich"
Cover of the original single from 2005
Single by Editors
from the album The Back Room
B-side
  • "Disappear"
  • "Crawl Down the Wall"
  • "Colours"
  • "Release"
  • "Camera"
  • "French Disko"
  • "Find Yourself a Safe Place"
Released18 April 2005 (2005-04-18)
Recorded2005
Genre
Length3:46
LabelKitchenware
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jim Abbiss
Editors singles chronology
"Bullets"
(2005) 		"Munich"
(2005) 		"Blood"
(2005)
2006 Reissue
Cover of the reissue single from 2006
Editors single singles chronology
"Bullets"
(2005) 		"Munich"
(2006) 		"All Sparks"
(2006)

"Munich" is a song by British post-punk revival band Editors and is featured on their 2005 debut album, The Back Room. It was originally released on 18 April 2005 as the second single from the band. It was re-released on 2 January 2006, peaking at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] It finished as the 184th best-selling single in the UK, in 2006.

Composition

"Munich" is composed in the key of G minor with a tempo of 150 beats per minute.[2] The song is characterised by its drum groove reminiscent of "Evil" by Interpol and "marching" guitars, featuring tremolo-picked leads. [3]

According to Editors singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Smith, the song's title has no meaning and is unrelated to the German city of Munich.[4][5] Smith took inspiration from the "weird and familiar at the same time" chords of R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck for the song's chord progression.[5]

Smith said in 2021 that he wrote the lyrics and chord progression in under five minutes of "hungover soul searching with a sprinkle of self-loathing", having had a difficult time the night before.[5] He felt that the relative lack of words in the song made them more powerful and gave "Munich" a longer-lasting appeal than "Bullets", which had been Editors' breakthrough song.[5]

It is featured on the soundtrack to the video games Saints Row, FIFA Street 2 and Major League Baseball 2K7. The song is played when the guests are being introduced on the English television programme A Question of Sport. It also appeared on the third season finale of Cold Case and in various episodes of the BBC drama Waterloo Road. It is featured in the 2008 film One Missed Call. "Munich" alone came as a free pack-in song on every Zune player bought.

Track listings

All songs written and composed by Chris Urbanowicz, Edward Lay, Russell Leetch and Tom Smith, except where noted.

Original release

7" vinyl

  • UK: Kitchenware SKX78 (limited to 3000 copies)
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Munich" 
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Disappear" 

CD

  • UK: Kitchenware SKCD78 (limited to 3000 copies)
No.TitleLength
1."Munich"3:46
2."Crawl Down the Wall"3:34
3."Colours"3:50
  • UK: Kitchenware SKCD78-2
No.TitleLength
1."Munich"3:47
2."Release"5:43

Re-release

7" vinyl

  • UK: Kitchenware SKX83
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Munich" 
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Camera" (original demo) 

CD

  • UK: Kitchenware SKCD83
No.TitleLength
1."Munich" 
2."French Disko" (Stereolab cover, written by Stereolab) 
  • UK: Kitchenware SKCD832
No.TitleLength
1."Munich"3:44
2."Find Yourself a Safe Place"2:54
3."Munich" (Cicada remix)7:48
4."Munich" (video) 

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Official Charts Company - Editors - Munich 2006". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  2. ^ Editors "Munich" Sheet Music. musicnotes.com
  3. ^ Editors - The Back Room Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 9 February 2024
  4. ^ Hanley, James (29 October 2019). "Hitmakers: The songwriting secrets behind Editors' Munich". Music Week. Retrieved 18 January 2025. Munich was written in Birmingham, before we were signed. Why it's called Munich, I've no idea. There is no story behind the title, it was just a stamp to give our song.
  5. ^ a b c d Haskell, Duncan (18 April 2021). "How I wrote 'Munich' by Editors' Tom Smith". Songwriting Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2025. The group's frontman takes us inside the creation of a track that has nothing to do with Bavaria's capital city
  6. ^ "The Official Charts Company - Editors - Munich". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  7. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Editors - Munich" (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  8. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  9. ^ "British single certifications – Editors – Munich". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 February 2021.