A Design for Life

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"A Design for Life"

Single by Manic Street Preachers
from the album Everything Must Go
Released	April 15, 1996
Format	CD, cassette
Recorded	?
Genre	Rock
Length	4:16
Label	Epic
Chart positions
#2 (UK)
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"She Is Suffering" (1994)	"A Design for Life" (1996)	"Everything Must Go" (1996)

"A Design for Life" was released by Manic Street Preachers in 1996 and was the first single release from the Everything Must Go album of May that same year. It is regarded by many as one of their most compelling songs, and by some as their outright best.

The title was inspired by the Joy Division EP record "An Ideal for Living". The opening line 'Libraries gave us power' was inspired by the legend above the entrance to the public library in the band's home town of Blackwood in Wales: 'Knowledge is Power', whilst the phrase 'then work came and made us free' references the slogan 'Arbeit Macht Frei' that featured above the gates of Nazi concentration camps and which was earlier referenced by the band on "The Intense Humming of Evil" from The Holy Bible. It reached number two in the UK charts on April 27 1996 and was the first in a run of five consecutive releases to be top ten hits.

The song also explores themes of class conflict and working class identity and solidarity, inspired by the band's strong socialist convictions. Its video included scenes of fox hunting and Royal Ascot to represent what the band saw as class privilege.

The CD included "Mr. Carbohydrate", "Dead Passive" and "Dead Trees and Traffic Islands", while the cassette included a live version of "Bright Eyes".

The song also made an appearance as the opening track on Forever Delayed, the band's greatest hits album released in November 2002.