Quote of the day: "Hey kids on the right and left do you feel dispossessed. If you're on the left or right I feel your pain tonight." - Do The Paranoid Style
Robin Hood in Reverse
Home > Discography > Robin Hood in Reverse
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02/24/2014 at 07:52
The nine in black represents the American Supreme Court, which has nine judges that dress in black. Them going berserk is about them passing Citizens United.
"The Old Fox fearing the worst / made his entrance in a hearse" This took me a little while, but I believe The Old Fox is an author who died in recent years. He was a humorist and satirist who was critical of Capitalist politics, and his last work (published after his death) specifically so. His name was Tumusiime Rushedge. Google him, though this link leads to information about his most recent book. http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20986:the-old-fox-lives-on |
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08/23/2013 at 01:16
I believe this song is just about Occupy Movement and all these things.
In the beginning of the song corporate entity is compared with religious entity (churches, steeples) to show they both have common origins: concerned people gather together and attach significance to their created affairs, which may happen to be perilous if affect others. "He" implies a God and also the Head of legislative or executive branch. And this "He" is expected to be a guide for mentioned entities. Any influential politician somehow influence current legislation which must be abided by corporate players, as a God who provides believers with commandments. "Then the nine in black robes all went berserk" this as I understand just a metaphor. A figure nine is like slogan "We are the 99%" and means people who rebel against big corporate boys. |
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04/12/2013 at 15:34
I just want to highlight the brilliance of Mr. Brett in this lyric:
"Citizens united I was excited When the kids are united they can never be divided But that was yesterday There's a brand new sham to today" Brilliant! Brett seems to be saying that hearing the name "Citizens United" got him jazzed. What a good sounding group, he was excited. It reminded him of the old Shams song and BR includes that old lyric ("When the kids are united they can never be divided"). But then he bitterly acknowledges that Citizens United is a sham. In the old days, such a groovy sounding group would be fighting for true justice. But now it is some cynical right-wing astroturf hack job against Hillary and not only that, it became an atrocious Supreme Court decision to boot. |
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02/18/2013 at 23:16
Quoting Brett again - he said he had written the lyrics before Obama had used the phrase. I think Brett or his girlfriend actually tweeted the song title sometime last year, so it should be easy to figure out who was first (IF the tweet was also sent before the speech).
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02/10/2013 at 11:34
It's fairly obvious that the song was intended to be a shot at Romney but in the grander scheme of things it can be seen as a depiction of both parties use lies and influence to take from the poor in the way of donations to further their career as politicians , hence robin hood in reverse .
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01/25/2013 at 08:36
It's a very simple meaning, though:
"President Barack Obama has amped up the debate over wealth with a new phrase. Mitt Romney’s plan to lower taxes on the wealthy, he says, amounts to “Robin Hood in reverse. It’s Romney-hood.” (from http://www.cnbc.com/id/48550350/039Robin_Hood_in_Reverse039_The_History_of_a_Phrase) |
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01/19/2013 at 05:02
It's obviously about the "Citizens United" case at the US Supreme Court, dealing with SuperPACs and corporations' right to "free speech", spending money on political ads. The lyrics explicitly mention "citizens united" and "the nine in black robes", i.e. the Supreme Court judges.
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01/18/2013 at 14:30
Pretty obvious Mitt Romney references here. Plutocrat, "Corporations are people too," and "What the fuck did he say?" being the general reaction of any right-minded person every time he opened his mouth on the campaign trail. The title, too, is an obvious reference to how Romney's platform declared it would cut aid for the poorest in society and give the subsequent funds to his rich criminal friends.
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01/17/2013 at 02:46
The references to the church and
Jesus Christ and corporations lead me to believe there is a play on ideas/words here. I think the "He" could also refer to Jesus, as I'll explain. The word "corporate" is rooted in the Latin corpus meaning a "body" (much like corpse). But more specifically, "corporation" means "united in one body" from the Latin corporatus. Jesus Christ is the "corporate personhood" of the holy trinity in two different ways. He is both the physical body (corporeal) form of god, and he is a part of three beings united in one "body" (the corporation). To tie it all togther, the Neo-Con segment of the republican party most in favor of corporate personhood also happen to be the most religious (fundamentalist Christian) group in mainstream US politics. For those unfamiliar with US politics, the lyric "Citizens United" is a reference to an organization in favor of corporate personhood. The opening lyric "Here's the Chruch, Here's the steeple" references an old rhyme that (in a non-political, inadvertant way) makes a distinction between "the church" and "the people" that comprise the church. So it's sort of a cutesy reference that says "make up your mind, you can't be a person and a corporation". However, many christians see "church" as any group of 2 or more christians in worship. (That idea may be based on Matthew 12:20) so there's plenty of reason to believe that group doesn't see themselves as individuals, but as a collective. (Which is sort of strange to me, because that sounds a bit communist) Also 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 states: 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. This one is a bit of a stretch but there is menion that all of us (including nonbelievers and slaves) are all part of the same body. (Even if, obviously, nonbelievers might not consider themselves part of that body) The BR lyrics also include a reference to slaves who are forced to support a body they do not consider themselves a part of: "But when the bell rings, the boys will sing Swing low, sweet precariat" That's an obvious reference to the old negro spiritual song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot that supposedly tied the escape from slavery with biblical imagery of the chariot that took Elijah to heaven. The "precariat" is a blend of the words Proletariate (the modern american working class who have no means to their own production) and Precarious (those who have no job security, and nothing to fall back on if they lose their job). I'm not sure, but I'm guessing "swing low, sweet precariat" is being sung by corporation, since the "the boys will sing" probably refers to the church choir. The working class "slaves" (they are effectively slaves of the system since they can't quit due to their precarious position) are being called upon by the corporations to save the economy from death. The other option is that "the boys" refers to an old pejorative term for black people, so in that case, the quote would be sung by the slaves (precariate / proletariat) as a sort of call-to-arms. Economic death is referenced twice in the song. Once with "when the bells ring" -- since church bells signify death. And once in the line immediately before that: "It couldnt last, it had to crash Some parties are just made that way" Which references the 2008 economic crash in the US. The party (probably the Republican party in particular) made the crash inevitable with their deregulation and other powers they gave to corporations. It's also a small play on words (as in "crashing a party"). Anyway, I honestly have no idea what this song is about or what it's trying to say. I totally pulled all this from my ass so don't believe any of it. |
