As those of us who were around at the time know, Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” was nothing short of an era-defining anthem. (If you’ve never screamed “F—k you, I won’t do what you tell me” at the top of your lungs can you even call yourself a Gen X-er?)
Originally inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles riots that happened after the police officers who brutally beat Rodney King were acquitted, the protest song is more meaningful than ever…proven by the fact that the 34-year-old song is back at the top of the charts.
As Forbes reported, “Killing in the Name” returned to both the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales and Alternative Digital Song Sales charts, taking the #5 and #7 spots, respectively. Previously, the song hit #3 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, but this latest surge marks a new peak for the song on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart, no doubt fueled by its recent popularity with protesters in Minneapolis.
Tom Morello called Zack de la Rocha’s lyrics ‘brilliant’
In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello called the line “F—k you, I won’t do what you tell me” a “universal sentiment”.
“While it’s a simple lyric, I think it’s one of [singer Zack de la Rocha’s] most brilliant,” he said, adding, “And to me, it relates to [19th century U.S. abolitionist] Frederick Douglass.”
“Frederick Douglass said that the moment he became free was not the moment that he was physically loosed from his bonds,” Morello continued. “It was the moment when master said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘No.’ And that’s the essence of ‘F—k 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.”
Morello also revealed that initially, the band left the lyrics off album’s lyric sheet, “because it’s I think it’s two lines, 16 ‘f—k yous,’ and one ‘motherf—ker.’ And we’re like, in the midst of all this grand political poetry, let’s just that one stand for itself.”
Over three decades later, it’s still standing.
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