"Disarm" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

, written by vocalist and guitarist

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...

. It was the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their second album, ''

Siamese Dream ''Siamese Dream'' is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 19, 1993, by Virgin Records. The album was produced by Butch Vig and frontman Billy Corgan. Despite its recording sessions ...

'' (1993), and became a top-20 hit in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Lyrics

The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

banned "Disarm" from ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' because of the lyric "cut that little child", and it received little radio airplay in the United Kingdom. Corgan has stated that the song reflects the shaky relationship he had with his parents while growing up.

Release

The song peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. In the U.S., the song failed to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but it peaked number forty-eight on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

chart, it also peaked at number five on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart and number eight on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. Two versions of the single were produced. Each version (''Heart'' and ''Smile'') featured different artwork and different

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s. The B-sides to the ''Heart'' version were both covers of classic rock songs from the 1970s. "

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

" was later included on the compilation album ''

Pisces Iscariot ''Pisces Iscariot'' is a compilation album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released in 1994 through Virgin Records, consisting of A-side and B-side, B-sides and outtakes. Reaching number 4 in the US upon its 1994 release ...

'', after which it received significant airplay on U.S. Modern Rock stations, peaking at number 3 on that chart. "

Dancing in the Moonlight "Dancing in the Moonlight" is a song written by Sherman Kelly, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly's band Boffalongo, and then a hit single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching no. 5 in Canada and no. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2000, a ...

" performed well in Australia, where it charted at number 90 on the

Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll presented by the publicly-funded Australian youth radio station Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Music of Australia, Australian and alternative music of th ...

in 1994, while "Disarm" did not chart. The UK 7-inch purple vinyl single features an exclusive B-side "Siamese Dream". In 2005, the track was released as a download as part of the '' Rarities and B-sides'' compilation.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Jake Scott Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a safety and punt returner from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). H ...

, is mainly in black and white and shows the members of the band floating over images of a house, an old man walking through an underpass while home movie-esque, color footage shows a young boy playing outside. The video premiered on MTV in early 1994 and was immediately placed into heavy rotation and spent a month as an MTV Exclusive video. Later that year it was nominated for Best Alternative Video and Best Editing in a Video at the

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s, the Pumpkins' first

s nominations.

Track listing

All songs were written by

except where noted. UK 7-inch vinyl single (7243 8 92309 7 0, HUT 43) # "Disarm" – 3:17 # "Siamese Dream" – 2:38 UK CD single 1 ("Smile" cover) # "Disarm" – 3:17 # "Soothe" (Demo) – 2:35 # "Blew Away" (

James Iha (born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018. Iha has als ...

) – 3:31 UK CD single 2 ("Heart" cover) # "Disarm" – 3:17 # "

" (

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

) – 3:10 # "

" (

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

) – 4:21

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* *

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1993 songs 1994 singles Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Jake Scott (director) Alternative rock ballads The Smashing Pumpkins songs Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Butch Vig Songs banned by the BBC Songs written by Billy Corgan Virgin Records singles