Pearl Jam

Know Your Rights

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Know Your Rights Lyrics

this is a public service announcement
with guitar
know your rights
#1
you got a right not to kill
murder is a crime
unless it is done
unless it is done by a policeman
or an aristocrat
oh, know your rights
#2
you have the right to food money
provided at cost,
you don't mind a little investigation, humiliation
and if you cross your fingers
perhaps retaliation
know you rights
these are your rights
know your...
know these rights
#3
you have the right to free speech
as long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it
know your rights
these are your rights
know your rights
these are your rights
for freedom
ha!
maybe it's been suggested in some quarters,
that this is not enough
so get up, get up and scream, oh!!
get up and scream, ahh oh!!

Submitted by

captainlaganja On Apr 16, 2004

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Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

CaptainLaganja

Submitter

2004-04-16 19:21:17

5 Meanings

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by Twinb1983

22y ago

this song is a cover, it was originally done by The Clash

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by queenjane

21y ago

great song no matter who's singing it

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by atthedrive-in

21y ago

woah i had no idea pearl jam covered this. thats awesome. one of my favourite clash songs.

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by strummer_2007

17y ago

God bless Joe Strummer... RIP

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by infidel77

17y ago

What album is this on?...also i believe the line is "you have the right to food money,providing of course,you don't mind a little investigation, humiliation and if you cross your fingers, rehabilitation" ..might be wrong, Joe tended to slur his words a bit..heh

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by Tig45 14y ago

Super late response - but Pearl Jam doesn't really release their covers on albums. They have only done it live, look through the bootlegs. The New York '03 version is great.

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