"Tripping" | ||||
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Single by Robbie Williams | ||||
from the album Intensive Care | ||||
Released | October 3, 2005 | |||
Format | CD single, DVD single, digital download | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | Pop, funk | |||
Length | 4:36 (Album Version) 4:03 (Radio Edit) |
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Label | Chrysalis | |||
Producer | Stephen Duffy Robbie Williams |
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Robbie Williams singles chronology | ||||
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"Tripping" is a song by British pop singer Robbie Williams, it was the first single from his 2005 album Intensive Care. The single was backed with the track "Make Me Pure", also from the same album, it was sent to radio stations around the world. Williams himself calls the song "something like a mini gangster opera" and "kind of cabaret act reggae". The rolling rhythm of the song owes much to the early work of The Clash. During the chorus Williams reaches an extremely high disco-like head voice. Lyrically the song is a bit darker than previous songs. It tells the tale of gangsters and how they "don't kill their own and they all love their mothers", before an anguished chorus of "I've taken as much as I'm willing to take". The opening lyrics "First they ignore you, then laugh at you and hate you. Then they fight you, then you win" is a paraphrase from a quote commonly attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. The song was the 26th best selling of 2005 in the UK.
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The video, which was directed by Johan Renck, features Williams running in place as if he can't seem to get anywhere. It appears that Williams is having a nightmare, in which he is living sometime in 1950s, and is stuck running endlessly without ever advancing, or driving in a stereotypical 1950s backdrop. It also includes a baby talking to him, and a pair of lesbian twins in his car's backseat. The car is a Saab 95.
The song became a massive worldwide success for Williams, debuting inside the top ten in most countries around Europe, including number-two in the United Kingdom, spending six weeks inside the top ten and fifteen inside the top seventy-five.[1] The single reached number-one in Argentina, Germany (where it's his first #1-hits overall[2]), Portugal, Italy, and Taiwan. In Switzerland the single was certified Gold.[3] In Mexico, the song reached number-nine and became the eleventh most played track of the year.[4] In Australia, the single peaked at number-seven and went on to sell over 35,000 copies being certified Gold by the ARIA.[5]
UK CD1
UK CD2
UK DVD Single
Country | Certification (if any) | Sales/shipments |
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Australia | Gold[5] | 35,000+ |
Switzerland | Gold[3] | 10,000+ |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[6] | 7 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[7] | 2 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] | 8 |
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[9] | 11 |
Denmark (Tracklisten)[10] | 3 |
European Hot 100 Singles[11] | 1 |
France (SNEP)[12] | 9 |
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[13] | 1 |
Italy (FIMI)[14] | 1 |
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[15] | 2 |
New Zealand (RIANZ)[16] | 20 |
Norway (VG-lista)[17] | 2 |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[18] | 2 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 2 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] | 2 |
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[21] | 2 |
End of year chart (2005) | Position |
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UK Singles Chart | 26 |
Preceded by La Nostra Vita by Eros Ramazzotti |
Italian Singles Chart number one single October 8, 2005 - October 15, 2005 |
Succeeded by "Big City Life" by Mattafix |
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