Greed!
Causing innocent blood to flow
Entire culture, lost in the overthrow
They came to seize and take whatever they please
Then all they gave back was death and disease
My people were left with no choice but to decide
To conform to a system, responsible for genocide
Responsible for genocide
Responsible for genocide...
Spoken:
'AIDS is killing the entire African nation
And a vaccine is still supposedly under preparation
But these governments they don't mind the procrastination
They say "We'll kill them off, take their land and go there for
vaction."'
My people's culture was strong, it was pure
And if not for that white greed
It would've endured
My people were left with no choice but to decide
To conform to a system
Their minds enslaved
Their souls encaged
I feel the rage
It's brutality can never be undone
But the sun is not yet set
The bass and drums and microphones a threat
That's when ya investigate the crimes from the inside
And see that they're responsible for genocide
Responsible for genocide
Responsible for genocide...
Ya cram ya culture down my throat
Say I'm inferior when I find that I choke
Ya fill my mind with a false sense of history
And then you wonder why I have no identity?
Well I'll strike a match and it'll catch and
Spread the insight we need
A tiny fire, burning bright
Shedding light on the darkness of greed
A yes yes y'all
And ya don't stop
Shedding light on the darkness of greed
A yes yes y'all
And ya don't stop
Shedding light on the darkness of greed
Binary Opposition Analysis:
-Literally in the song, begins with steady "elevator music"
before dramatically shifting to chaotic "death metal
screaming".
-(They vs. We)/(They/ "y'all" vs. "my people"/I)-
"They came to seize and take whatever they please", "all they
gave back was death and disease", "These governments they don't
mind", "They say "We'll kill them off, take their land",
"ya don't stop".
"My people were left with no choice but to decide", "My
people's culture was strong", "I'll strike a match".
Implications:
The song condemns a societal "they" for being
responsible for genocide, a consequence of their personal greed
without care for "my people". The "orderly" part of the
song, the calm music, represents society and the system that they have tried to
put into place. Society doesn't see anything wrong with their actions
and tries to silence those who do and seeks for them to "conform to the
system", thus, in their eyes, there is no need for an outburst.
The orderly music represents society's "cover". However, the
chaotic "screaming" part of the song represents those oppressed
who are able to see through society's cover and calming music to the
real atrocities underneath. They are calling out to make themselves known
and rebel against the system being pushed down upon them. Thus the music
becomes more chaotic, literally in contrast to the orderly beginning; the
two parts of the song are in opposition of one another, making this known by
being compiled within the same song for the starkest startling contrast in
sounds and ideologies.
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