Testify - Rage Against the Machine

UGH!

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
Ones who travel now in coffins
On the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside our door
Now testify

Now testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Yes testify
It's right outside our door

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
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
Yeah testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Now testify
It's right outside our door

Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
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
Testify
It's right outside our door
Now testify
Testify
It's right outside our door

     Rage Against the Machine, an alternative metal band that mixes several genres which include rap, funk, and thrash, are known for their aggressive vocals and political lyrics. The band, and each individual band member, has participated in political protests. The band sees their music as their primary way to get their points and views across different borders. Guitarist Tom Morello graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Also, Morello wrote politically driven lyrics in his first band, Electric Sheep, so it is not too surprising that Rage Against the Machine is known for their songs involving political criticism. In the song “Testify”, Rage Against the Machine uses strong imagery and repetition to reinforce the idea that we need lies to keep the world in order, even though the truth is “right outside our door.”

     Rage Against the Machine uses imagery in “Testify” in an interesting way. They tend to make sure that each line of imagery represents the same concept; the fact that lies run the world. For example, “The glamour subdue me” suggests that glamour, or the lies, is sprinkled freely to keep us under control. Another example of imagery they use is “I need you my witness/To dress this up so bloodless.” When I hear these lines I think of a man trying to cover up a murder. Again, they successfully portray lying through imagery. Also, “I’m empty please fill me…assure me” openly says that people accept these lies and often want to hear the lies because they do not want to face the truth. People believe that the truth is too much to handle, and that their lives are more important than the lives the people that are affected by these lies.

     Rage Against the Machine often uses repetition to get their point across. Almost all songs use repetition, but songs by Rage Against the Machine use it to the point that you have to remember what they are trying to tell you. For example, even outside the chorus they use the word testify several times. It is as if the band is directly telling politicians to testify or prove that what they say is actually the truth. Also, to get across their point, they use the line “It’s right outside our door” often to show that the answers to the lies are not far from our homes. One final, even more noticeable example of repetition is their overuse of the word “me.”

     Another strong aspect of the song is its use of a direct voice. Aided by Zack de la Rocha’s aggressive vocals, the song’s lyrics seem to be telling the politicians who feed the world lies to confess. The whole song sounds almost like a one-sided conversation. A strong example of this is the band’s constant use of the word “me,” such as in “I’m empty please fill me.” The band does not just mean me, as in them, but they mean the people who are affected by the lies.

     Rage Against the Machine wants a more efficient form of government that does not need to rely on lies, but, unlike the typical bands who have similar requests, they use a more forceful way of asking for such things. Rage Against the Machine likes to risk publicity by using extensive cursing and by doing crazy stunts on stage to show their disapproval of government. This often gets them into trouble, but they always seem to get their point across, which is something that not too many bands can do successfully. Their disapproval of government is clearly expressed in the song “Testify.” Almost every line, if not every line, gets their point across continually; the fact that lies surround us, even when we do not see it.