Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine (1992)

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Killing in The Name Cover

Killing in the Name (Killing in the Name Of) is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine released in November 1992 as the lead single from their self-titled debut album. The protest song tells about revolution against racism and authority abuse of power. The song reached number 25 in the United Kingdom in 1993. [1]

Rage Against The Machine

Key Lyrics

Some of those that work forces

Are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that work forces

Are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that work forces

Are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that work forces

Are the same that burn crosses

Uh!

Killing in the name of

Killing in the name of [2]

Black Empowerment

The song was inspired by Rodney King’s incident in March 1991 as he was savagely beaten by Los Angeles police, which was caught on camera. On April 29, 1992, the subsequent acquittal of the officers caused people accusing the LAPD of institutionalized racism and sparked riots in the United States since the 1960s. The band released the song in November the same year with the incident and compares racism to the cross-burning activities of the Ku Klux Klan. [3]

Protesters in Portland, Oregon, have been chanting the Killing in the Name’s chorus, “fuck you/I won’t do what tell me,” as the band’s most enduring anthem. Tom Morello, Rage guitarist, recalls his life and career as well as the making of the song in detail.

“‘Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me’ is a universal sentiment. While it’s a simple lyric, I think it’s one of [Zack de la Rocha’s] most brilliant. And to me, it relates to Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass said, the moment he became free was not the moment that he was physically loosed from his bonds. It was the moment when master said, “Yes.” And he said, “No.” And that’s the essence of “Fuck you, I will not do what you tell me.” And that’s why it’s encouraging to hear it shouted at the Fed goons who are shooting tear gas at American citizens." [4]

References

  1. Killing in the Name. wikipedia.org. Retrieved January 24, 2021
  2. Killing in the Name Rage Against the Machine. genius.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021
  3. https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/x-lists/best-protest-songs/. January 20, 2021. radiox.co.uk. Retrieved January 24, 2021
  4. Hiatt,Brian. How Rage Against the Machine Created ‘Killing in the Name’. August 17, 2020. rollingstone.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021