| Rise Against – Re-Education (Through Labor) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Huh. Many people seems to be in agreement that this song is about Chinese sweat shops. But just because the chorus has the word "sweat" in it does not mean that it's "definitely/obviously" about sweat shops. This song is not about China at all. The "Re-education through labor" program in China is part of the penal system, and is not related to sweat shops. The title is drawing an analogy between this system and the middle- and lower-classes of America, who feel forced to work for small salaries. According to the Wiki, "Frontman Tim McIlrath spoke to MTV News about this song: "It's talking a lot about the 9-to-5, dog-eat-dog lifestyle, and what we are asked to do to simply make ends meet nowadays, and I think it's a feeling shared by people all around the world and especially in this country." In other words, the speaker is saying that working at low-paying jobs in America is analogous to the "re-education through labor" system in China. We feel trapped, and often wait for things to change instead of effecting that change ourselves. Line-by line: To the sound of a heartbeat pounding away To the rhythm of the awful rusted machines [These two lines suggest the repetitive, un-ending nature of blue-collar work] We toss and turn but don't sleep Each breath we take makes us thieves [Not sleeping due to our guilt, knowing that by doing nothing (except breathing) we are stealing from the future, wasting resources and our lives] Like causes without rebels Just talk but promise nothing else [Reversal of the term "Rebel without a cause" suggests that we know what we believe, but refuse to act on it.] We crawl on our knees for you Under a sky no longer blue We sweat all day long for you ["Crawl/sweat" refers again to the idea of spending our lives working for someone else] ["Sky no longer blue" is the pollution of the air (and other resources) caused by modern life (see environmentally-themed text messages in the video] But we sow seeds to see us through ["But" indicates the one thing we are doing — teaching our children] 'Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true [We don't believe we'll be able to change anything] We wait to reap what we are due [We hope our children will] To the rhythm of a time bomb ticking away [The "time bomb" is problems that are worsening (the video refers to dwindling global food/water supply, increasing populations, destruction of forests and species) And the blare of the sirens combing the streets ["sirens combing" is the increasing crime problem] Chased down like dogs we run from Your grasp until the sun comes up [Only being pursued at night suggests minor illegal activity, perhaps drug use] [Chorus repeats, but adds:] Look now at what they've done to you [Suggests that people have been taught to be complacent] White needle's buried in the red [The "white needle" is the speedometer needle on a vehicle dashboard. "Buried in the red" means driving as fast as possible. In other words, we're making everything worse as fast as possible.] The engine roars and then it gives But never dies [Usually when a car's engine "gives" or gives out, it is broken. In this case, the lyrics suggest an engine that is pushed to its limit, then loses all its power, but is still able to limp along. The analogy is that this is what we are doing to the world.] 'Cause we don't live We just survive ["don't live/just survive" means that we don't live life to the fullest, we don't take control of our lives] On the scraps that you throw away ["on the scraps" refers to the upper-class getting the good stuff, and everyone else getting what's left over] [Chorus changes to:] I won't crawl on my knees for you [The speaker is willing to stand up for himself and what he believes] I won't believe the lies that hide the truth [The speaker will find out what's actually true, not just believe what he's told] I won't sweat one more drop for you [The speaker will start living for himself] 'Cause we are the rust upon your gears ["Rust/gears" refers to speaking up about problems, like in the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." We are the insect in your ears [To be "a bug in someone's ear" is to bother them until they do something about something] We crawl We crawl ["crawl" calls back to the earlier chorus where the speaker was subservient…] We crawl... all over you […But then reverses it to suggest a swarm of protesters attacking those in power] We sow the seeds to see us through Our days are precious and so few [Suggests an urgency to act] We all reap what we are due ["reap what we are due" has a nice double meaning — "Do nothing/get nothing," "Do something/get something"] Under this sky no longer blue [Even though things are bad… We bring the dawn long overdue […The speaker sees the possibility for making things better] We crawl We crawl We crawl... all over you [And the way to make things better is to swarm over the powerful. Write your senator, run for office, stage a protest, do something!] The "making-of" video of the video for the song also supports this translation. McIlrath states in the making-of video that "This video is about not coddling Americans" and about teaching people about reality. The video's director says that the idea of the bombs in the video is symbolic, and that it means to "eradicate all that you might object to in the world and starting from fresh" No China. It's about us (Americans). |
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