Anti-Class Transformative Music

The Preacher and the Slave

Joe Hill, 1911

"Workingmen of all countries, unite
Side by side we for freedom will fight When the world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain

You will eat [You will eat] bye and bye [bye and bye]
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry [How to fry]
Chop some wood [Chop some wood], 'twill do you good [do you good]
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye [That's no lie] "

"The Preacher and the Slave" was written in 1911 by Joe Hill, a labor activist and member of the labor union Industrial Workers of the World. The song parodies the Christian hymn "In the Sweet By-and-By". It was one of the hymns that preachers in the Salvation Army would sing in the street as people were returning home from a day of work. The song by Joe Hill mocks the message of the preachers that workers would have to wait until the next life to live comfortably and exhorts workers to take action to change the life they have now. The song envisions workers organizing for their fair share of wealth. It was from this song that the term "pie in the sky" was coined.

Spaceship

Kanye West, 2004, Rap

"I've been workin' this graveshift and I ain't made s-
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky
Man, man, man
If my manager insults me again I will be assaulting him
After I f- the manager up then I'm gonna shorten the register up
Let's go back, back to the Gap
Look at my check, wasn't no scratch
So if I stole, wasn't my fault
Yeah I stole, never got caught
They take me to the back and pat me
Askin' me about some khakis
But let some Black people walk in
I bet they show off their token lackey
Oh now they love Kanye, let's put him all in the front of the store
Saw him on break next to the 'No Smoking' sign with a blunt and a Mall'
Takin' my hits, writin' my hits
Writin' my rhymes, playin' my mind
This f- job can't help him
So I quit, y'all welcome
Y'all don't know my struggle
Y'all can't match my hustle
You can't catch my hustle
You can't fathom my love dude
Lock yourself in a room doin' five beats a day for three summers
That's a different world like Kree Summers
I deserve to do these numbers
The kid that made that deserves that Maybach
So many records in my basement
I'm just waitin' on my spaceship, blaow"

"Spaceship" is a song from the standpoint of a minimum wage "unskilled" Black worker. In the song, he faces humiliation from his boss in the form of micromanaging of his behavior, covert racism, a graveyard shift, and big dreams met with limited opportunity for class mobility. The hook of the song is something that is applicable to all people in poor and working classes. The song is also an example of anti-racist and anti-classist combining since it is written from the point of view of a Black minimum wage worker. This song is an example of questioning and envisioning applied to class conditions in the United States domestic economy.

Warning: Video contains explicit lyrics

Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)

Kanye West, 2005, Rap

"Good Morning, this ain't Vietnam still
People lose hands, legs, arms for real
Little was known of Sierra Leone
And how it connect to the diamonds we own
When I speak of Diamonds in this song
I ain't talkin bout the ones that be glown
I'm talkin bout Rocafella, my home, my chain
These ain't conflict diamonds,is they Jacob? don't lie to me mayne
See, a part of me sayin' keep shinin',
How? when I know of the blood diamonds
Though it's thousands of miles away
Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today
Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses
I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless
'til I seen a picture of a shorty armless
And here's the conflict
It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold
Spend ya whole life tryna get that ice
On a polar rugby it look so nice
How could somethin' so wrong make me feel so right, right?
'fore I beat myself up like Ike
You could still throw ya Rocafella diamond tonight, 'cause"

"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" is a song about conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone. These diamonds are mined in war zones and used to finance war lords. Kanye West's song is an example of questioning and envisioning a future without conflict diamonds, which are a product of exploitative and irresponsible capitalism. In fact, the song is supporting the solidarity economy model, since Kanye West urges listeners to think twice about purchasing diamonds and to "throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe."

Same Thing

Flobots, 2008, Rap/Alternative

"Somewhere between prayer and revolution
Between Jesus and Huey P. Newton
That's where you find Jonny 5 shoot shootin
Water guns at the audience while ya scootin'
Your gluteous max due to the fact that I'm tootin'
On the horn gonna warn you that I'm rootin'
For the other team in the culture wars
So I stab the beast belly while the vulture roars

YO JOE!
Let it blow with convulsive force
Til walls fall off their false supports
Til Jericho's aircraft carriers alter course
And all brave young Americans are called ashore
Cause we've already lost the war they keep wagin
Splattering the streets in battles that keep ragin
Bloodyin each page of the story that we're studying
Each day the same just the names keep changin

Saying the same things over again
Repeatin the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been all over the globe on our government's funds
Leavin man woman and child dead bloody and numb
saying the same things over again
Repeatin the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been overthrowing leaders with legitimate views
Democratically elected but we didn't approve....

How many times can the line divide
How many wars to uphold some pride
Fears uncontrolled just swoll the tide
Of blood in the streets while the people die
Ima keep on tryin
Longs as suffering's multiplyin
And why not
Souls get tossed and left out to rot
My backs broad enough to help left your cross
As long as you help with mine
The process of healing will take some time
To see the pain on your face is the same as mine
Not a game or a race but the stake is high
We maintain our mistakes for the sake of sides
As long as it takes I"ll say it one more time
As long as it takes I'll say it one more time
As long as it takes I'll say it one more time

Saying the same things over again
Repeatin the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been all over the globe on our government's funds
Leavin man woman and child dead bloody and numb
saying the same things over again
Repeatin the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been overthrowing leaders with legitimate views
Democratically elected but we didn't approve....

We need money for healthcare and public welfare
Free mumia and Leonard peltier
Human needs not corporate greed
Drop the debt and legalize weed
We say yes to grassroots organization
No to neoliberal globalization
Bring the troops back to the USA
And shut down guantanamo Bay
The same things over again
My throat's so sore from shoutin no war for the soldiers again
Lookin for cloud cover when the explosions begin
Lookin the crowd over wonder if you where we've been
We've been all over the globe Iran to Nicaragua
Guatamala Angola grenada
Dominican republic Haiti chile
It don't stop and it won't stop unless we keep say

Saying the same things over again
Repeatin the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been all over the globe on our government's funds
Leavin man woman and child dead bloody and numb
saying the same things over again
Repeatin the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been overthrowing leaders with legitimate views
Democratically elected but we didn't approve....

Who let'em overthrow Jacobo Arbenz
Who let'em overthrow Mohammad Mosaddeq
Who let'em assassinate Salvador Allende
I didn't let them but they did it anyway
Who let'em overthrow Kwame Nkrumah
Who let'em overthrow Aristide
Who let'em assassinate Oscar Romero
I didn't let'em but they did indeed!

Don't let them assassinate Hugo Chavez
Don't let them assassinate Evo Morales
Bring back Martin, Malcolm, Medgar,
Hampton, Goodman, Schwerner, Chaney"

This song is about the people calling for change, but "saying the same things over again" without any change from the government. It questions the right of the rich people in power to overthrow and assassinate the leaders of progress and revolution, and the lack of choice and power that the undervalued have in their own lives. There is a sense of unity by repeatedly saying "we" and "us", but it emphasizes the divide in the country by talking about "how many times can the line divide" and establishing the "they" and "them" as the enemy.

This page was created in November 2010 with analytical content written by Aileen Patimeteeporn, Heidi Wang, Naomi Takaki, Esther Gonzalez, Cynthia Lee, and Shannon Coyne. The website pages were created by Heidi Wang and Shannon Coyne. The layout template was provided by Professor Matthaei.