The Puritan
by Blur

Album: Single Release Only (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This upbeat, tongue-in-cheek synth track was penned by Blur for a concert in London's Hyde Park to coincide with the Olympics Closing Ceremony on August 12, 2012. First played by Damon Albarn at a poetry festival in June 2012, it was premiered live by the band on July 2, 2012. The song was released along with another new track, "Under The Westway," on the same day, Blur's first single since the limited edition release of "Fool's Day" in 2010.
  • The term Puritan was principally applied from the 1560s to those progressive Protestants who wished to purify the Church of England in accordance with scripture from what they regarded as superstitious and corrupt rituals retained after its separation from Rome. In later years it came to be applied to Protestant Christians who were of a particular austere or strict persuasion. The name was generally applied with scorn, implying a "holier than thou" attitude on the part of those who were so called thus. Though the Puritans have gained an unaesthetic reputation for banishing paintings and musical instruments from churches, closing theaters, etc., they were not — contrary to popular opinion — hostile to the arts themselves. Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, for instance, owned an organ, and he hired an orchestra and held dancing at his daughter's wedding.

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