Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Rage Against the Machine - Year Of Tha Boomerang

Rage Against the Machine - Year Of Tha Boomerang Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Evil Empire
Released: 1996

Year Of Tha Boomerang Lyrics

Year Of Tha Boomerang

Frantz Fanon coined the phrase "Year of the Boomerang" in a speech about the time when violent uprisings will come back and nail imperialists in the face.

Dachau, Germany was the site of the "Dachau Massacre" in 1945, where, following liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, American soldiers allegedly murdered 520 surrendering Waffen-SS soldiers.

French psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, while working in Algeria's Blida-Joinville in 1956, resigned from his position in the French government when he heard from his Algerian patients stories of torture by the French during the Algerian war, and, instead, worked openly with the Algerian Independence movement from then on. He was an ambassador to Ghana, as well as a military strategist. He was best known, however, for his writing, which established him as an influential figure of the anti-racist political movements of the time. He died in Washington D.C in 1961 under the name Ibrahim Fanon while battling Leukemia. He was 36 years old."

Mount Tai, or Mount Tai Shan, as it as known, is one of the "Five Sacred Mountains' of China, associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal.

This song appears on the soundtrack for the movie Higher Learning, and excerpts of the song are used throughout the film.

In the live version of this song performed at Cal State in 1994, Zack de La Rocha introduces the song by saying, "Some men dream of a patriarchal society," explaining that L7 (a female band), who took the stage previously, was their (pro-patriarchal society men's) "worst nightmare." This is a direct reference to the opening lines of the song, "Tha sistas are in, so check the front line," denouncing oppression of women's rights.

Rage Against the Machine - Tire Me

Rage Against the Machine - Tire Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Evil Empire
Released: 1996

Tire Me Lyrics

Yeah ya tryin' ta Tire Me, tire me
I can see you in front of me, front of me
Ya tryin' ta tire me, tire me
Why don't you get from in front of me?
Oh she's got everyone's eyes
Yeah!
In every home there's a sickening distress
Yeah!
Of roll that film she's a precious, a precious one
But we're all gonna, nah we're already dead!
We're already dead!

And those colorful words for tha Laos frontiers-man
Who passed away with the truth
Amidst the eulogies of bliss
Who will know now what I know about you?
Now that history's a flowery cancerous mess
Yeah ya tryin' ta tire me
A mess!
Overbearing yes ya tryin' ta tire me
A mess!
Yeah ya tryin' ta tire me, tire me
So get the fuck from in front of me
Nah let's see it broken, bloody and undressed!
We're already dead!

In a violent time

I want to be Jackie Onassis
I want to wear a pair of dark sunglasses
I want to be Jackie O
Oh oh oh oh please don't die!
Yeah ya tryin' ta tire me, tire me
I can see you in front of me, front of me
Ya tryin' ta tire me, tire me
Why don't you get from in front of me?
Ruh!
We're already dead!
We're already dead!
We're already dead!

Writer/s: WILK/MORELLO/COMMERFORD/DE LA ROCHA
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Tire Me

Lead singer Zack de La Rocha has said that this song was written to celebrate the death of former US president Richard Nixon.

In the movie Higher Learning, there is a remixed version of this song.

Despite never being released as a single, nor ever having a music video, this song won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

Rage Against the Machine - People Of The Sun

Rage Against the Machine - People Of The Sun Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Evil Empire
Released: 1996

People Of The Sun Lyrics

Check it, since fifteen hundred and sixteen, minds attacked and overseen
Now crawl amidst the ruins of this empty dream
With their borders and boots, on top of us
Pullin' knobs on the floor, of their toxic metropolis
But how you gonna get what you need to get?
The gut eaters, blood drenched get offensive like Tet
The fifth sun sets get back reclaim
The spirit of Cuauhtémoc, alive and untamed
Now face the funk now blastin' out your speaker
On the one, Maya, Mexica
That vulture came to try and steal your name but now you got a gun
Yeah, this is for the People Of The Sun!

It's comin back around again! This is for the people of the sun!
It's comin back around again! Uh
It's comin back around again! This is for the people of the sun!
It's comin back around again! Uh

Yeah, never forget that the whip snapped ya back
Your spine cracked for tobaco, I'm the Marlboro Man, uh
Our past blastin' on through the verses
Brigades of taxi cabs rollin' Broadway like hearses
Troops strippin' zoots, shots of red mist
Sailors blood on the deck, come sister resist
From the era of terror, check this photo lens
Now the City of Angels does the ethnic cleanse, uh
Heads bobbin' to the funk out your speaker
On the one, Maya, Mexica
That vulture came to try and steal your name but now you found a gun
You're history! This is for the people of the sun

It's comin back around again! This is for the people of the sun!
It's comin back around again! Yeah
It's comin back around again! This is for the people of the sun!
It's comin back around again!

It's comin back around again! This is for the people of the sun!!
It's comin back around again!
It's comin back around again! This is for the people of the sun!!
It's comin back around!
Of the sun

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

People Of The Sun

This song was first written about the original California Chicano natives. As it developed, the lyrics changed to focus on the Zapatista Movement in southern Mexico. The Zapatistas, an army of indigenous farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, launched an armed uprising on January 1, 1994.

At a 2010 concert in Brazil, Zack de la Rocha dedicated the song to the MST (Landless Rural Workers of Brazil Movement), a "mass social movement, formed by rural workers and by all those who want to fight for land reform and against injustice and social inequality in rural areas."

Rage Against the Machine - Wind Below

Rage Against the Machine - Wind Below Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Evil Empire
Released: 1996

Wind Below Lyrics

Flip this capital eclipse
Tha vocal tone has got 'em sweatin' their own apocalypse
Yes, rebel of tha grains stand masterless
Tha masked ones cap one
NAFTA comin' with tha new disaster
And yes we in wit tha wind an tha plan de Ayala kin
Are comin' back around again
Tha slave driver saliva, one night power turns
Them devils mouths dry, now Mexico burns
So here they come one by one them killers of the new frontier
Occupy, causin' fear, come on
Wit the Wind Below
We in wit the wind below
Wit the wind below

Flip this capital eclipse
Them bury life wit IMF shifts, and poison lips
Yo they talk it, while slicin' our veins yo so mark it
From the FINCAS overseers, to them vultures playin' markets
She ain't got nothin' but weapon and shawl
She is Chol, Tzotzil, Tojolobal, Tzeltal
The tools are her tools, Ejidos and ovaries
She once suffocated, now through a barrel she breathes
She is the wind below
The wind below
She is the wind below

And all the shareholders gonna flex, and try ta annex the truth
While the new trust is gonna flex, and cast their image in you
Yeah all the shareholders gonna flex, and try ta annex the truth
And while the new trust tries ta flex, and cast their image in you
And GE is gonna flex and try and annex the truth
And NBC is gonna flex and cast their image in you
And Disney bought the fantasies and piles of eyes
And ABC's new thrill rides of trials and lies
And while the gut eaters strain to pull the mud from their mouths
They force our ears to go deaf to the screams in the south
Yeah!
But we in wit the wind below!
But we in wit the wind below!
But we in wit the wind below!

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Wind Below

The title refers to the worker's revolution that will one day overthrow corporate domination over the modern world. More specifically, the song criticizes multinational corporations that maintain sweatshops in Asia and the Americas.

This was based on the essay The Southeast In Two Winds by Subcomandante Marcos. Marcos describes the Zapatistas and the Chiapas as "The wind below," as it is rising up and a storm is brewing.

Rage Against the Machine - Wind Below

Rage Against the Machine - Wind Below Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Evil Empire
Released: 1996

Wind Below Lyrics

Flip this capital eclipse
Tha vocal tone has got 'em sweatin' their own apocalypse
Yes, rebel of tha grains stand masterless
Tha masked ones cap one
NAFTA comin' with tha new disaster
And yes we in wit tha wind an tha plan de Ayala kin
Are comin' back around again
Tha slave driver saliva, one night power turns
Them devils mouths dry, now Mexico burns
So here they come one by one them killers of the new frontier
Occupy, causin' fear, come on
Wit the Wind Below
We in wit the wind below
Wit the wind below

Flip this capital eclipse
Them bury life wit IMF shifts, and poison lips
Yo they talk it, while slicin' our veins yo so mark it
From the FINCAS overseers, to them vultures playin' markets
She ain't got nothin' but weapon and shawl
She is Chol, Tzotzil, Tojolobal, Tzeltal
The tools are her tools, Ejidos and ovaries
She once suffocated, now through a barrel she breathes
She is the wind below
The wind below
She is the wind below

And all the shareholders gonna flex, and try ta annex the truth
While the new trust is gonna flex, and cast their image in you
Yeah all the shareholders gonna flex, and try ta annex the truth
And while the new trust tries ta flex, and cast their image in you
And GE is gonna flex and try and annex the truth
And NBC is gonna flex and cast their image in you
And Disney bought the fantasies and piles of eyes
And ABC's new thrill rides of trials and lies
And while the gut eaters strain to pull the mud from their mouths
They force our ears to go deaf to the screams in the south
Yeah!
But we in wit the wind below!
But we in wit the wind below!
But we in wit the wind below!

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Wind Below

The title refers to the worker's revolution that will one day overthrow corporate domination over the modern world. More specifically, the song criticizes multinational corporations that maintain sweatshops in Asia and the Americas.

This was based on the essay The Southeast In Two Winds by Subcomandante Marcos. Marcos describes the Zapatistas and the Chiapas as "The wind below," as it is rising up and a storm is brewing.

Rage Against the Machine - Township Rebellion

Rage Against the Machine - Township Rebellion Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rage Against The Machine
Released: 1992

Township Rebellion Lyrics

Rebel, rebel and yell
'Cause our people still dwell in hell
Locked in a cell
Yes, the structure's a cell
Mad is the story I tell
How long can we wait?
Come on, seein' what's at stake
Action for reaction
If your mind's in a somewhat complacent state
Get a check up
This is a stick up
Our freedom or your life
Lord, I wish I could be peaceful
But there can be no sequel
Now freedom must be fundamental
In Johannesburg or South Central
On the mic, 'cause someone should tell 'em
To kick in the Township Rebellion

Yeah, what about that, sucker? Unh

Yeah, so you thought you could get with the hard lines
That fill your mind
Thoughts, battles fought
And lessons taught
Yes I'll display the fitness
And flip like a gymnast
Raise my fist and resist
Asleep, though we stand in the midst
Of a war
Gotta get mine
Gotta get more
Keepin' the mic warm against the norm
'Cause what does it offer me?
I think often it's nothin' but a coffin

Gotta get wreck
Till our necks never swing on a rope
From here to the cape of no hope

Now freedom must be fundamental
In Johannesburg or South Central
On the mic, 'cause someone should tell 'em
To kick in the township rebellion

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm

What's it gonna take?

Shackle their minds when they're bent on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost
Shackle their minds when they're left on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost
Shackled our minds when we're bent on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost
Shackled our minds when we're left on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost, lost, lost!
Shackle your minds and you're left on the cross!
When ignorance reigns, life is lost!
Just shackle your minds when you're bent on the cross!
When ignorance reigns, life is lost, lost!

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm
Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Township Rebellion

This song relates human freedom to the situation in South Africa: "Freedom should be fundamental: In Johannesburg, or South Central."

Rage Against the Machine - Settle For Nothing

Rage Against the Machine - Settle For Nothing Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rage Against The Machine
Released: 1992

Settle For Nothing Lyrics

A jail cell is freedom from the pain in my home
Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on
A world of violent rage
But it's one that I can recognize
Having never seen the color of my father's eyes
Yes, I dwell in hell, but it's a hell that I can grip
I tried to grip my family
But I slipped

To escape from the pain in an existence mundane
I gotta nine, a sign, a set and now I gotta name

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
Death is on my side, suicide!

A jail cell is freedom from the pain in my home
Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on
A world of violent rage
But it's one that I can recognize
Having never seen the color of my father's eyes
Yes, I dwell in hell, but it's a hell that I can grip
I tried to grip my family
But I slipped

To escape from the pain in an existence mundane
I gotta nine, a sign, a set and now I gotta name

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
Caught between my culture and the system, genocide!

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
If ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face
Yeah!

If we don't take action now
We Settle For Nothing later
Settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later
If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
We'll settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

If we don't take action now
We'll settle for nothing later
We settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later
If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
We'll settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Settle For Nothing

This was written in the first person from the point of view of a frustrated youth in the slums.

Rage Against the Machine - War Within A Breath

Rage Against the Machine - War Within A Breath Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Battle Of Los Angeles
Released: 1999

War Within A Breath Lyrics

War Within A Breath

"It's land or death" is a phrase that emphasizes that land, for the agrarian cultures of Chiapas, Mexico, is life - sustained by relationships with supernatural forces, and nurtured in communal and familial rituals. Land is the essential part of being, and is worked, cared for, and ritualized in a cultural, symbolic, and matter-of-survival context. When the Mexican government "changed" article 27 of the Constitution, eliminating community property, they also eliminated the people, dividing them into pieces, families, or individuals, and privatizing the land. If the Zapatistas don't take arms and fight for land - they face death.

Rage Against the Machine - New Millennium Homes

Rage Against the Machine - New Millennium Homes Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Battle Of Los Angeles
Released: 1999

New Millennium Homes Lyrics

New Millennium Homes

This is about capitalism and how it negatively affects the poor working class. Lyrics like "Old south order, new northern horizon" are in reference to large corporations that make you think they have great positive ideals and practices when in actuality they have the same slave owning way of thinking of the old American south. The title New Millennium Homes could be a slightly sarcastic way of saying so called charity is a fraud to make you believe something is being done about the problem of poverty.

The chorus to this riff is the same as the ending riff on the Rage/Tool collaboration.

Rage Against the Machine - Testify

Rage Against the Machine - Testify Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Battle Of Los Angeles
Released: 1999

Testify Lyrics

The movie ran through me
The glamour subdue me
The tabloid untie me
I'm empty please fill me
Mister anchor assure me
That Baghdad is burning
Your voice it is so soothing
That cunning mantra of killing
I need you my witness
To dress this up so bloodless
To numb me and purge me now
Of thoughts of blaming you
Yes the car is our wheelchair
My witness your coughing
Oily silence mocks the legless
Ones who travel now in coffins
On the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside our door
Now Testify

Now testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Yes testify
It's right outside our door

With precision you feed me
My witness I'm hungry
Your temple it calms me
So I can carry on
My slaving sweating the skin right off my bones
On a bed of fire I'm choking on the smoke that fills my home
The wrecking ball is rushing
Witness your blushing
The pipeline is gushing
While here we lie in tombs
While on the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside your door
Now testify
Yeah testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Now testify
It's right outside our door

Mass graves for the pump and the price is set, and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set, and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set, and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set, and the price is set

Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now controls the past
Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now?

Now testify
Testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Testify
It's right outside our door

Writer/s: HARRIS, JAMES SAMUEL III/LEWIS, TERRY/HINESK, GARY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Testify

This song is about misrepresentation of world events by the US media. News anchors relay lies into the homes of Americans because that's all the Americans, being empty people whose only concerns are the media's showcase of glamour and gossip, can handle. The only way for people to survive is through the opiates that they partake of every day in the form of celebrities and media. It uses the party slogan for the Oceania government in the book 1984: "Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past."

Some lyrical analysis:
"We found your weakness and it's right outside your door, now testify" - In the first part, Zack is trying to be coy about saying what he thinks the government's weakness really is. So think about it this way, what's right outside your door? The world and all the people in it. And if all those people would come together, what powerful tool of revolution we would be?
"Mass graves for the pump and the price is set" - For the mass graves part, Zack is referring to oil. In the middle eastern countries, the battle is for oil, and how that's the real cause for America's involvement over there. We want our oil supply safe, so we try to be a mediator and police officer for those countries. Mass graves? People in war die. That's what it's all about - so basically, there's all this fighting that we participate in to secure oil. You "pump" gas, and the price constantly goes up and down with middle eastern crises.
"Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now controls the past
Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now?" - In the last part, Zack is saying that whoever is in charge now, is still, has been, and always will be, in charge. Then he asks who's controlling everything now. Almost asking if we really want it this way, or if we're going to do something to change it.

Rage Against the Machine - Guerilla Radio

Rage Against the Machine - Guerilla Radio Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Battle Of Los Angeles
Released: 1999

Guerilla Radio Lyrics

Guerilla Radio

This song is about the 2000 US presidential Election, and in particular the way media shaped the campaigns of the two competitors, George Bush and Al Gore.

The line "More for Gore or the son of a drug lord" refers to the discovery that, while George Bush Sr. was President, the CIA was supplying drugs to inner city areas. (thanks, rudi - melbourne, Australia, for above 2)

This song is a statement about the worthlessness of democracy in the United States. Since the people don't truly understand "choice" and are only able to grasp a small glimpse of those running to represent them in office, they are unconsciously under a one-party system. Rage are using music and sound as a weapon against such "low intensity warfare."

This was the first single from The Battle Of Los Angeles, and is the most recognizable as their sound in relation to their past releases. It's basically a manifestation of Rage's goal and purpose, acting as "guerrilla radio" to alert the masses of the change to radical ideas. (thanks, Tim - Pittsburgh, PA, for above 2)

This was used on the popular late-'90s skateboarding game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. (thanks, Chris LaBenne - Niles, OH)

Rage Against the Machine - Take The Power Back

Rage Against the Machine - Take The Power Back Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rage Against The Machine
Released: 1992

Take The Power Back Lyrics

In the right light, study becomes insight
But the system that dissed us
Teaches us to read and right
So called facts are fraud
They want us to allege and pledge
And bow down to their God
Lost the culture, the culture lost
Spun our minds and through time
Ignorance has taken over
Yo, we gotta Take The Power Back!
Bam! Here's the plan
Motherfuck Uncle Sam
Step back, I know who I am
Raise up your ear, I'll drop the style and clear
It's the beats and the lyrics they fear
The rage is relentless
We need a movement with a quickness
You are the witness of change
And to counteract
We gotta take the power back

Yeah, we gotta take the power back
Come on, come on!
We gotta take the power back

The present curriculum
I put my fist in 'em
Eurocentric every last one of 'em
See right through the red, white and blue disguise
With lecture I puncture the structure of lies
Installed in our minds and attempting
To hold us back
We've got to take it back
Holes in our spirit causin' tears and fears
One-sided stories for years and years and years
I'm inferior? Who's inferior?
Yeah, we need to check the interior
Of the system that cares about only one culture
And that is why
We gotta take the power back

Yeah, we gotta take the power back
Come on, come on!
We gotta take the power back

Hey yo check, we're gonna have to break it, break it,
break it down
Aw shit!
Ugh!
And like this Ugh!
Come on, yeah! Bring it back the other way!

The teacher stands in front of the class
But the lesson plan he can't recall
The student's eyes don't perceive the lies
Bouncing off every fucking wall
His composure is well kept
I guess he fears playing the fool
The complacent students sit and listen to some of that
Bullshit that he learned in school
Europe ain't my rope to swing on
Can't learn a thing from it
Yet we hang from it
Gotta get it, gotta get it together then
Like the motherfuckin' weathermen
To expose and close the doors on those who try
To strangle and mangle the truth
'Cause the circle of hatred continues unless we react
We gotta take the power back

Yeah, we gotta take the power back
Come on, come on!
We gotta take the power back

No more lies
Ugh!
Yeah!

Take it back y'all
Take it back, a-take it back
A-take it back y'all, come on!
Take it back y'all
Take it back, a-take it back
A-take it back y'all, come on!

Ugh!
Yeah!

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Take The Power Back

This is about forced ideals in the US - how the American government wants their citizens to conform to the "ideal" American dream. If you don't agree with their opinions, you could be considered a terrorist. (thanks, liam - frederick, MD)

At some live shows, lead singer Zack De La Rocha would intro this by saying, "The classroom is the last place to find the truth." (thanks, Tim - Pittsburgh, PA)

This song makes a reference to the Weathermen, a radical militant organization active during the 1970s, whose stated goal was the violent overthrow of the United States government. (thanks, Bob - Tokyo, Japan)

Rage Against the Machine - Voice Of The Voiceless

Rage Against the Machine - Voice Of The Voiceless Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Battle Of Los Angeles
Released: 1999

Voice Of The Voiceless Lyrics

Voice Of The Voiceless Song Chart

This is about Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist and former black panther convicted of killing the Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in a 1981 altercation. Abu-Jamal, who was shot in the chest, was sentenced to death but the death sentence was overturned in 2001.

Abu-Jamal was a radio host in Philadelphia, where he was referred to as "The Voice Of The Voiceless" for his exposure of issues in poor and underrepresented communities.

The song prompted police protests as cops objected to Rage supporting a man convicted of killing one of their own. During a show in Philadelphia, Rage introduced a song with "Good evening, We want to just quickly send a nice friendly message to uh, the fraternal order of police in Philadelphia. Here's something nice and friendly, and it goes something like this..." They proceeded to play "F--- the Police" by NWA. (thanks, Rory - Philadelphia, PA, for above 2)

Rage guitarist Tom Morello visited Abu-Jamal in jail, and used the band's website to rally support for him.

"And Orwell's hell, a terror era coming true. But this little brother's watching you too." This is a reference to the classic George Orwell novel 1984, where the state is basically this unseen authoritarian force that controls everything and everybody. The term Orwell uses for the government is "Big Brother" (which is still used as a metaphor for government over 50 years after he wrote the book in 1948). So "little brother" in that lyric would be the average citizen, who's aware of the government's abuse/authority and knows it's wrong. (thanks, Tim - Pittsburgh, PA)

Rage Against the Machine - Bulls On Parade

Rage Against the Machine - Bulls On Parade Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Evil Empire
Released: 1996

Bulls On Parade Lyrics

Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!

The microphone explodes, shattering the molds
Either drop tha hits like de la O or get tha fuck off tha commode
Wit tha sure shot, sure ta make tha bodies drop
Drop an don't copy yo, don't call this a co-op
Terror rains drenchin', quenchin' tha thirst of tha power dons
That five sided fist-a-gon
Tha rotten sore on tha face of mother earth gets bigger
Tha triggers cold empty ya purse

Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells

Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library
Line up to tha mind cemetery now
What we don't know keeps tha contracts alive an movin'
They don't gotta burn tha books they just remove 'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells
Rally round tha family, pockets full of shells

Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells

Bulls On Parade

Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!

Writer/s: DE LA ROCHA/COMMERFORD/MORELLO/WILK
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Bulls On Parade Song Chart

This song deals with the US military and their aggressive tactics. It mentions how the arms industry encourages war to get military contracts with lines like, "Weapons, not food, not homes, not shoes, not need, just feed the war cannibal-animal," and "What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and moving."

The song is from the album Evil Empire, whose title itself is a reference to US president Ronald Reagan's description of the former Soviet Union. (thanks, Tim - Pittsburgh, PA)

The lyric at the beginning is "Come With It Now." It is often mistaken for "Quit It Now."

Rage Against The Machine performed this on a controversial episode of Saturday Night Live. They hung upside-down American flags on their amps, which is something they did at their live shows. The SNL producers thought it might offend Steve Forbes, a presidential candidate who was hosting that night, and told the group to take the flags down. The band, upset that such a cutting edge show could be so oppressive, left after playing their first song. (thanks, Dale - Wichita, KS)

The sound of vinyl turntable scratching that you hear is not, in fact, a turntable, but was a sound effect reproduced by Tom Morello. Morello rubs his fingers along the guitar strings while toggling between two pickups and using a wah-pedal.

The video was nominated "Best Hard Rock Video" at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. It was directed by Peter Christopherson, himself a member of Hipgnosis, Throbbing Gristle, and Psychic TV, among other career milestones. He also directed videos for Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," Pink Floyd's "Us And Them," and Bad Company's "Shake It Up," to name just a few notable works.

Also in the video, we see flashes of artwork by conceptual artist Barbara Kruger. Kruger's work often features bold text in the colors black, white, and red, often with a strong political statement. View some of Kruger's exhibitions here .

"Bulls On Parade" made #15 on VH1's list of 40 Greatest Metal Songs.

Rage Against the Machine - Renegades Of Funk

Rage Against the Machine - Renegades Of Funk Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Renegades
Released: 2000

Renegades Of Funk Lyrics

No matter how hard you try, you can't stop us now
No matter how hard you try, you can't stop us now

We're the renegades of this time and age
This is the time and age of renegades
Renegades of this time and age
This is the time and age of renegades

Since the Prehistoric ages and the days of ancient Greece
Right down through the Middle Ages
Planet earth kept going through changes
And then no renaissance came, and times continued to change
Nothing stayed the same, but there were always renegades
Like Chief Sitting Bull, Tom Paine
Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcom X
They were renegades of their time and age
The mighty renegades

We're the Renegades Of Funk
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

From a different solar system many many galaxies away
We are the force of another creation
A new musical revelation
And we're on this musical mission to help the others listen
And groove from land to land singin' electronic chants like
Zulu nation

Revelations
Destroy all nations
Destroy all nations
Destroy all nations
Destroy all nations
Destroy all nations
Destroy all nations

Now renegades are the people with their own philosophies
They change the course of history
Everyday people like you and me
We're the renegades we're the people
With our own philosophies
We change the course of history
Everyday people like you and me

C'mon
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

We're poppin', sockin', rockin' puttin' a side of hip-hop
Because where we're goin' there ain't no stoppin'
Poppin', sockin', puttin' a side of hip-hop
Because where we're goin' there ain't no stoppin'
Poppin', sockin', rockin' puttin' a side of hip-hop
'Cause we're poppin', sockin', rockin' puttin' a side of hip-hop
Poppin', sockin', rockin' puttin' a side of hip-hop

We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

We're teachers of the funk
And not of empty popping
We're blessed with the force and the sight of electronics
With the bass, and the treble the horns and our vocals
'Cause every time I pop into the beat we get fresh

There was a time when our music
Was something called the Big Street beat
People would gather from all around
To get down to the big sound
You had to be a renegade those days
To take a man to the dance floor

[Repeat: x2]
Say jam sucker (jam sucker)
Say jam sucker (jam sucker)
Say move sucker (move sucker)
Say groove sucker (move sucker)
Say dance sucker (dance sucker)
Say dance sucker (dance sucker)
Now move sucker (move sucker)
Now move sucker (move sucker)

A weh weh weh weh woer
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

A weh weh weh weh woer
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

A weh weh weh weh woer
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

A weh weh weh weh woer
We're the renegades of funk
We're the renegades of funk

Writer/s: WILLIAMS, ELLIS / MILLER, JOHN B / ALLEN, ROBERT DURRELL / ROBIE, JOHN / BAKER, ARTHUR HENRY / BAMBAATAA, AFRIKA
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Renegades Of Funk Song Chart

This is a tribute to various revolutionary American leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Pioneering rap group Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force wrote this song and were the first to record it. They released it as a single in 1984.

This was the first single from Renegades, which also contains covers of songs by The Stooges, The Rolling Stones, MC5, and Devo.

This was released on election day: November 7, 2000.

The radio version is shorter than the CD version, running 3:46 vs. 4:35.