Murphy's Law (Róisín Murphy song)

"Murphy's Law" is a song recorded by Irish singer Róisín Murphy. It was officially released on 4 March 2020, serving as the fifth single from Murphy's fifth solo studio album, Róisín Machine, released later that year. Written by Murphy, Dean Honer, Michael Ward and Richard Barratt, with song also produced by the latter, "Murphy's Law" lyrically refers to the adage of the same name in a scenario where Murphy unintentionally runs into a former lover.

"Murphy's Law"
Single by Róisín Murphy
from the album Róisín Machine
ReleasedMarch 4, 2020 (2020-03-04)
Genre
Length
  • 3:50 (Edit)
  • 8:00 (Extended Mix)
  • 6:51 (Album version)
LabelSkint Records
Songwriter(s)
  • Róisín Murphy
  • Richard Barratt
  • Dean Honer
  • Michael Ward
Producer(s)
  • Richard Barratt
Róisín Murphy singles chronology
"Narcissus"
(2019)		 "Murphy's Law"
(2020)		 "Something More"
(2020)

Background and recording

In an interview with Billboard, Murphy said "Murphy's Law" was the only track from the album they wrote and recorded in the studio together, with the others being more remote.[1] After deciding a song about Murphy's law worked well as a disco track, she and the song's co-writers "tied it up with singing about Sheffield", where Murphy first ventured into music, "and leaving a small town and going and making myself [...] that part of your life where you make yourself, where it comes time to do your own nurturing and decisions."[1]

According to Murphy, the track was probably the most difficult song on the album to finish: "We were there writing it thinking, 'it's cheesy, but it's so strong.' So we kept going with it. The whole track was in a different key, I kept singing it and it never felt right, and then I said, 'well, stick it in another key and transpose it and I'll re-sing it.' So he [Barratt] transposed it and we got this gender-bent vocal sound going and we haven't replaced it because we couldn't live without it. It felt like a perfect foil against the song."[1]

Live performances

Murphy first performed the track live on The Graham Norton Show on 2 October 2020.[2] Industry title Music Week noted her appearance on the chat show amid record labels vying for reduced music performance slots, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on television programming.[2] During her tour in support of the album, Murphy instead performed "We Are the Law" (a remixed mashup with "We Got Together"), taken from her remix album Crooked Machine.[3]

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Róisín Machine.[8]

Charts
Chart performance for "Murphy's Law"
Chart (2020) Peak
position
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[9] 91

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Murphy's Law"
Region Date Format(s) Version Label(s) Ref.
Various 4 March 2020
Single Skint [4]
17 April 2020 Crooked mixes [6]
29 May 2020 Cosmodelica remix [7]
2 October 2020
Album version [5]

References
  1. Lynch, Joe (2 October 2021). "20 Questions With Roisin Murphy: Inside Her Disco Dance 'Machine'". Billboard. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  2. Paine, Andre (7 October 2020). "Joel Corry to play Strictly Come Dancing launch show as labels compete for reduced TV slots". Music Week. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. Hunt, El (22 September 2021). "Róisín Murphy live in London: the disco queen gets reflective on the dancefloor". NME. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  4. "Murphy's Law". Spotify. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  5. "Róisín Machine". Spotify. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  6. "Murphy's Law (Crooked Mixes)". Spotify. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  7. "Murphy's Law (Cosmodelica Remix)". Spotify. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  8. Róisín Machine (Liner notes). Róisín Murphy. Skint Records. 2020. LC19881.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
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