“Interchanging mind control
Come, let the revolution take its toll
If you could flick the switch and open your third eye
You’d see that we should never be afraid to die”

Muse is a British rock band that has a big, far-out and cosmic sound appropriately called “space rock”. What can be lost in all their experimentation and noise is the words. The song “Uprising” comes from their 2009 album Resistance. I came upon the lyrics recently and was reminded that despite all the technology and electric blasts and hype and music videos of contemporary bands, they can still represent today’s Folk Music. The lyrics to “Uprising” would not have been too far-out for a folk concert in 1963, even if the music would have been.

The spirit of Woody Guthrie lives on as these machines still kill fascists.

“Uprising”

Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume
They’ll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down
And hope that we will never see the truth around
(so come on)

Another promise, another seed
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(so come on)

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
(so come on)

Interchanging mind control
Come, let the revolution take its toll
If you could flick the switch and open your third eye
You’d see that we should never be afraid to die
(so come on)

Rise up and take the power back
It’s time the fat cats had a heart attack
You know that their time’s coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
(so come on)

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
(so come on)

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
(so come on)

Hey, hey, hey, hey