Riot

Dead Kennedys

Rioting, the unbeatable high
Adrenalin shoots your nerves to the sky
Everyone knows this town is gonna blow
And it's all
Gonna blow right now

Now you can smash all the windows that you want
All you really need are some friends and a rock
Throwing a brick never felt so damn good
Smash more glass
Scream with a laugh
And wallow with the crowds, watch them kicking peoples' ass

But you get to the place
Where the real slave-drivers live
It's walled off by the riot squad aiming guns right at your head
So you turn right around
And play right into their hands
And set your own neighborhood
Burning to the ground instead

Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast

Get your kicks in quick
They're callin' the National Guard
Now could be your only chance to torch a police car
Climb the roof, kick the siren in and jump and yelp for joy
Quickly, dive back in the crowd, slip away, now don't get caught

Let's loot the spiffy hi-fi store, grab as much as you can hold
Pray your full arms don't fall off, here comes the owner with a gun

Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast

Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Shit!

The barricades spring up from nowhere
Cops in helmets line the lines
Shotguns prod into your bellies
The trigger fingers want an excuse
Now!

The raging mob has lost its nerve
There's more of us but who goes first?
No one dares to cross the line
The cops know that they've won

It's all over but not quite, the pigs have just begun to fight
They club your heads, kick your teeth
Police can riot all that they please

Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha, yeah!
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast

Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands

Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Riot Lyrics as written by Jello Biafra Klaus Flouride

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Riot song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +1
    General CommentIt's about how even when people try to revolt, they end up hurting themselves instead of the people their anger is actually aimed at.
    shadowwiththeeyeson October 28, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI love how he sings this song. Kind of like an excited and slightly confused 10-year-old.
    ShanghaiTheBastardson July 22, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Commentthe thrill of rioting! yyeah.. i've never did anyhting resembling that before but this song gives me a good picture.
    anyway, i don't really want to go in-depth on this song but the riot is a people, and people are wholly imperfect. eventhough the riot may be for a good reason it's always corrupted in some way........ not to mention cops and the people who control them who beat the shit out of anyone who revolts, and gets away with it.
    daycare_abortionon July 10, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentShanghaiTheBastards wrote:
    I love how he sings this song. Kind of like an excited and slightly confused 10-year-old.

    But doesn't Jello ALWAYS kinda sound like an excited and slightly confused 10-year-old?? :)
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not cutting him down in any way. I have tremendous respect for Jello.
    As to the meaning of this song, I think it's about the mob mentality during a riot, how it takes over and people don't think about the consequences of their actions. "Tomorrow you're homeless. Tonight it's a blast."
    the_music_nazion January 08, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Commentaww..... i wanna riot.....
    boss_clickon February 01, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment"Shotguns prod into your bellies
    The trigger fingers want an excuse"

    Biafra's one concern during the DK days was that the general public tends to hurt themselves through authority without furthering their cause.

    During the 80's riots were more common and involved punk rock shows.
    Wardraculaon July 23, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI'm always reminded of the LA Riots when I hear this song. What the people were rioting over (racial equality) was a great cause, but all they got out of rioting was their neighborhoods in ruins.

    In some ways, this song reminds me of an angry child -- so pissed off, but instead of finding a proactive way to change the way things they are, the kid ends up trashing their room or breaking their own toys. In the end, all that's left are your things/life/etc. ruined, and the establishment (whomever it may be) can point at your actions and say, "See? These people are animals. We NEED to control them." In the end, most rioting just hurts the rioters and actually makes the establishment stronger.
    agnosison March 19, 2008   Link

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