| "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" | ||||
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| Single by the 1975 | ||||
| from the album Notes on a Conditional Form | ||||
| Released | 2 April 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2019 | |||
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| Length | 4:24 | |||
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| The 1975 singles chronology | ||||
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| Official audio | ||||
| "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" on YouTube | ||||
"Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" is a song by English band the 1975 from their fourth studio album, Notes on a Conditional Form (2020). The song was written by band members Matty Healy, George Daniel, Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald, while Daniel and Healy handled the song's production. It was released on 2 April 2020 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records as the fifth single from the album. The song features guest vocals from singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. Healy re-wrote the song several times, focusing on the prison–industrial complex and the religious oppression of young people, while the final version was created as a patchwork from each iteration. After meeting Bridgers, the band invited her to record vocals for the song, turning it into a duet.
Musically, "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" is a minimalist folk and acoustic ballad containing elements of lo-fi, emo and alternative country music. The song features a soft, sparse and stripped-down production, composed primarily of Acoustic guitars, electronic textures, quiet drums, distorted horns, saxophones, brass flourishes and synthesized strings. Lyrically, it is written from the perspective of two closeted religious individuals struggling with an internal conflict between religion, sexual orientation, and personal identity. The song explores themes of heartbreak, faith, sexuality, love, vulnerability, defeat and fragility.
"Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" was released to positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised the song's emotionally-charged lyrics, composition and the inclusion of Bridgers. Commercially, the single peaked at number 11 on the New Zealand Hot Singles chart, number 38 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, number 83 in Ireland and number 88 on the UK Singles Chart. To promote "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America", the band commissioned Spanish dancer and choreographer Candela Capitán to create a short art film as part of the Artists Respond to NOACF online exhibition. Upon release, the video incited controversy due to its explicit nature and was quickly removed from Facebook and Instagram.