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Shoot the Dog

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"Shoot the Dog"
Single by George Michael
from the album Patience
Released29 July 2002 (2002-07-29)
GenreSynth-pop[1]
Length5:01
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"Freeek!"
(2002) 		"Shoot the Dog"
(2002) 		"Amazing"
(2004)

"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.

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).

Lyrics

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Michael 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

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The music video featured animation provided by the satirical British cartoon series 2DTV. It originally premiered as a 'world exclusive' on MTV and VH1 simultaneously on July 2, 2002, and was the number-one music video on rotation between July and August 2002.[3]

The scrolling message on VH1's broadcast: 'We're playing this video as a world exclusive. You can't even hear it on the radio until later this week.'

Synopsis

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"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 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.

Criticism

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Michael faced heavy criticism of his song in the United States, with the New York Post naming him a "past-his-prime pop pervert". Michael claimed he feared returning to the United States as a result of the article's contents and the public's outrage.[4]

Track listings

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UK, South African, Australian, and Japanese CD single[4][5][6]

  1. "Shoot the Dog" (explicit album version)
  2. "Shoot the Dog" (Moogymen mix)
  3. "Shoot the Dog" (Alexkid Shoot the Radio remix)
  4. "Shoot the Dog" (video)

UK cassette single[7]

  1. "Shoot the Dog" (explicit album version)
  2. "Shoot the Dog" (Moogymen remix)

European and Japanese DVD single[8][9]

  1. "Shoot the Dog" – 5:35
  2. "Freeek!" – 4:33

Charts

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Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 36
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 41
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 46
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[13] 1
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[14] 31
Denmark (Tracklisten)[15] 1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[16] 28
France (SNEP)[17] 59
Germany (GfK)[18] 44
Hungary (Single Top 40)[19] 7
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 23
Italy (FIMI)[21] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 26
Portugal (AFP)[23] 2
Romania (Romanian Top 100[24] 21
Scotland (OCC)[25] 15
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 39
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 14
UK Singles (OCC)[29] 12

Release history

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Region Version Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom "Shoot the Dog" 29 July 2002
  • CD
  • cassette
 Polydor [30]
Australia 5 August 2002 CD [31]
Japan 21 August 2002 [32]
"Shoot the Dog" / "Freeek!" 4 December 2002 DVD [33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "You Have Been Loved: Remembering George Michael, the Icon". Albumism. 27 December 2016.
  2. ^ "CNN.com - George Michael defends 'Shoot the Dog' - July 5, 2002". edition.cnn.com.
  3. ^ "Michael denies attack on Bush". bbc.co.uk. 5 July 2002. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b Shoot the Dog (UK & Australian CD single liner notes). George Michael. Polydor Records. 2002. 570 92 42.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ 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)
  10. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  11. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  12. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  13. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. 27 September 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  15. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Tracklisten. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 34. 17 August 2002. p. 18. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  17. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  18. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  19. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  20. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Shoot the Dog". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  21. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  22. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  23. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 36. 31 August 2002. p. 13. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  26. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  27. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  28. ^ "George Michael – Shoot the Dog". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  29. ^ "George Michael: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  30. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 29 July 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 July 2002. p. 31. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ "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.
  33. ^ "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.
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