Rage Against The Machine: 'Testify'

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
Now traveling in coffins
But on the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside our door

Now testify

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 rushing
My 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

Mass graves for the pump 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



The music video shows the two presidential candidates at the time ( George W. Bush and Al Gore for the 2000 Presidential Elections) stating the same policies and views on important issues, and the movie aims to highlight the lack of choice in the US electoral system. Other key themes in the video focus on America's reliance on oil, with several clips of the Gulf War, and lines at gas pumps accompanied by the lines "Mass graves for the pump and the price is set." This line shows how we sacrifice our soldiers and send them to Iraq to get oil, even if it means war.  "I'm choking in the smoke that fills my home..." is referring to the diesel that cars burn that are polluting our air.

The song also shows how the media takes stories and twist them for their own gains, such as higher ratings.
"Mister anchor assure me, That Baghdad is burning..." This line right here probably refers to what I was saying. This shows how even 10 years ago the media is still the same. They still skew stories so that we get what they want us to get and not the truth . Although I will admit it has gotten better. This is a great song that is very political, and got many people thinking about these events.