Know Your Enemy (Rage Against the Machine song)
"Know Your Enemy" | |
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Song by Rage Against the Machine featuring Maynard James Keenan | |
from the album Rage Against the Machine | |
Released | November 3, 1992 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:55 |
Label | Epic |
Composer(s) | Tim Commerford, Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk |
Lyricist(s) | Zack de la Rocha |
Producer(s) | Garth 'GGGarth' Richardson, Rage Against the Machine |
Audio sample | |
"Know Your Enemy" |
"Know Your Enemy" is a song by American
Background
The song's main riffs were written by Tim Commerford on an acoustic bass. The bridge features Maynard James Keenan's vocals; Perry Farrell was asked to sing the part but his absence led to it being given to former Rage lead vocalist candidate Keenan instead.[5][6]
The album version is not the same as the demo version. The original is over 30 seconds shorter with no singing, uses distortion under the guitar solo without any 32nd notes or whammy pedal, and is notable for the misspelling of "defiance" as D-E-F-I-E-N-C-E. There is also an alternate drum breakdown and the outro section is not present with the song ending on an additional rant.
Composition
The song is in
Political statements
The song, like many others in the album, contains anti-war and anti-authoritarian lyrics.[9][10][11] The song's main message is that the American government is contradictory when it touts itself as the land of the free yet is run by an elitist enterprise, and that you should question authority figures who determine what you are able to believe. That message is evident in lines such as, "What? The land of the free? Whoever told you that is your enemy!", "As we move into '92, still in a room without a view!" and "Yes I know my enemies! They're the teachers that taught me to fight me!" The song ends with the following lines:
Compromise
Conformity
Assimilation
Submission
Ignorance
Hypocrisy
Brutality
The Elite
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams!
All of which are American dreams! [12]
References
- ^ Weiss, Dan (April 6, 2012). "Ten Rap-Rock Songs That Are Actually Awesome". LA Weekly.
- ISBN 978-0857120403.
- ISBN 0-87930-627-0.
- ISBN 0-7119-9209-6.
- ^ Jenke, Tyler (June 8, 2016). "RATM drummer opens up about the time Maynard was their singer". tonedeaf. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Tom Morello Gives Us Some Further Insight into RATM and Tool’s History" (2012-12-21). FourthEye.net. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- Philadelphia Inquirer. December 8, 1999.
- ^ "Songs Using a Whammy Pedal" (2017-07-18). Guitar Gear Finder. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "Rage: Do-it-yourself rock music". The Washington Times. November 25, 1993.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (November 8, 1993). "Pop and Jazz in Review". The New York Times.
- ISBN 0-87930-792-7.
- ^ Stark, Jeff (September 24, 1997), "Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy", SF Weekly