Butterflies and Hurricanes

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"Butterflies and Hurricanes"
CD cover art by Storm Thorgerson
Single by Muse
from the album Absolution
Released	20 September 2004 (2004-09-20)[1]
Recorded	2003
Studio	AIR (London)
Genre	Art rock progressive rock alternative rock
Length	5:01 (album version) 4:48 (single version) 4:20 (radio edit)
Label	Atlantic Taste East West
Composer(s)	Matt Bellamy Dominic Howard Chris Wolstenholme
Lyricist(s)	Matt Bellamy
Producer(s)	John Cornfield Muse Paul Reeve
Muse singles chronology
"Apocalypse Please" (2004) "Butterflies and Hurricanes" (2004) "Supermassive Black Hole" (2006)
DVD single
The "Butterflies and Hurricanes" DVD cover.
7" single
The "Butterflies and Hurricanes" 7" cover.

"Butterflies and Hurricanes" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the sixth and final single from their third studio album, Absolution (2003), on 20 September 2004. Unlike Absolution, the single was released through Atlantic Records.

The song was one of two songs recorded with a studio orchestra during the initial stages of production. It is also notable for its Rachmaninoff-esque piano interlude. The title and theme were mainly inspired by the butterfly effect of chaos theory. The theory describes how even the smallest of changes in present conditions, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings, can cause a chain reaction and have a significant effect in the future, like a hurricane. The song was also dedicated to Dominic Howard's father, who died shortly after the band's performance at the Glastonbury Festival.^[2]