Song of the Day (BLM): Rage Against The Machine – Down Rodeo

Day 9. Rage Against The Machine, particularly guitarist Tom Morello have been in the news quite a bit this week. As a revolutionary socialist band who have been burning Stars & Stripes & wearing Hammer & Sickles since the early ’90’s it is quite surprising that RATM have any right-wing fans at all. Somehow they do. And these right-wing fans have been getting very upset about Tom Morello expressing his opinions about the current revolutionary actions of the Black Lives Matter movement. This is one of them.

Needless to say, Morello’s response was both witty & humorous. A true Twitter professional.

Check out this equally brutal Twitter putdown from a couple of years ago. Just glorious. Textbook.

Down Rodeo is a scathing blast of metallic funk. It’s lyrics deal with systematic racism, the shameful legacy of slavery & forward looking revolutionary ideas. A personal highlight for me.

Yeah I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown skin man
Since their grandparents bought one

So now I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown skin man
Since their grandparents bought one

So now I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun

Bangin’ this bolo tight on this solo flight can’t fight alone
Funk tha track my verbs fly like tha family stone
Tha pen devils set that stage for tha war at home
Locked wit out a wage ya standin’ in tha drop zone
The clockers born starin’ at an empty plate
Momma’s torn hands cover her sunken face
We hungry but them belly full
The structure is set ya neva change it with a ballot pull
In tha ruins there’s a network for tha toxic rock
School yard ta precinct, suburb ta project block
Bosses broke south for new flesh and a factory floor
The remains left chained to the powder war

Can’t waste a day when the night brings a hearse
So make a move and plead the fifth ’cause ya can’t plead the first
Can’t waste a day when the night brings a hearse
So now I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown skin man
Since their grandparents bought one

Yes I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown skin man
Since their grandparents bought one

So now I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun

Bare witness to tha sickest shot while suckas get romantic
They ain’t gonna send us campin’ like they did my man Fred Hampton
Still we lampin’ still clockin’ dirt for our sweat
A ballots dead so a bullet’s what I get
A thousand years they had tha tools
We should be takin’ ’em
Fuck tha G-ride I want the machines that are makin’ em
Our target straight wit a room full of armed pawn to
Off tha kings out tha west side at dawn

Can’t waste a day when the night brings a hearse
Make a move and plead the fifth ’cause ya can’t plead the first
Can’t waste a day when the night brings a hearse
So now I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown skin man
Since their grandparents bought one

Yeah I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown skin man
Since their grandparents bought one

Yeah I’m rollin’ down Rodeo wit a shotgun

The rungs torn from the ladder can’t reach the tumour
One god, one market, one truth, one consumer

Just a quiet peaceful dance!
Just a quiet peaceful dance!
Just a quiet peaceful dance!
Just a quiet peaceful dance!
Just a quiet peaceful dance for the things we’ll never have
Just a quiet peaceful dance for the things we don’t have

While looking for the YouTube video for Down Rodeo, I came across this excellent video of a man reacting to it for the first time. His enthusiasm is so infectious that I just had to share this with you as well. I was especially interested that the line he picked out as a stand out was one of the most revolutionary, “Fuck tha G-ride I want the machines that are makin’ em.” We don’t want the shitty scraps from the capitalists tables, we want the means of production.

Looking for some great music to listen to? Why not check out the Song of the Day (BLM) Spotify playlist.