This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
My father once told this to me
Boston's gritty history
Another ruthless battle
in a useless holy war
Handed down discrepancies
and tensions that'll never ease
One early afternoon on Broad street
It blew up down there for sure
Broad street's just not broad enough
and you just don't love God enough
and if that isn't odd enough
We've taken too much crap
You've pushed us round the sod enough
We'e scrapped and rapped and jawed enough
poked, provoked and prod enough
Something's gonna snap
The Boston fire fighting volunteers
On their way to fight a fire somewhere
Met with a funeral procession
proceeding way too slow
A brownstone burns out of control
We need to lay to rest this soul
Loggerheads on broadstreet
Eye to eye and toe to toe
Broad street's just not broad enough
and you just don't love God enough
and if that isn't odd enough
We've taken too much crap
You've pushed us round the sod enough
We'e scrapped and rapped and jawed enough
poked, provoked and prod enough
Something's gonna snap
Riot down on Broad street
Hand me a brick, a stick, a picket
Bottle, axe or cobblestone
Riot down on Broad street
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
I won't go down alone
And when the fight was over
they retired to the Clover,
Silver Dollar, Thirsty Scollar
Whatever pubs they had back then
The Brownstone was in ashes
Broken Bones and bloody gashes
and a casket sat on Broad street
'til the sun came up again
Broad street's just not broad enough
and you just don't love God enough
and if that isn't odd enough
We've taken too much crap
You've pushed us round the sod enough
We'e scrapped and rapped and jawed enough
poked, provoked and prod enough
Something's gonna snap
Riot down on Broad street
Hand me a brick, a stick, a picket
Bottle, axe or cobblestone
Riot down on Broad street
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
There's a Riot down on broad street (x 4)
Boston's gritty history
Another ruthless battle
in a useless holy war
Handed down discrepancies
and tensions that'll never ease
One early afternoon on Broad street
It blew up down there for sure
Broad street's just not broad enough
and you just don't love God enough
and if that isn't odd enough
We've taken too much crap
You've pushed us round the sod enough
We'e scrapped and rapped and jawed enough
poked, provoked and prod enough
Something's gonna snap
The Boston fire fighting volunteers
On their way to fight a fire somewhere
Met with a funeral procession
proceeding way too slow
A brownstone burns out of control
We need to lay to rest this soul
Loggerheads on broadstreet
Eye to eye and toe to toe
Broad street's just not broad enough
and you just don't love God enough
and if that isn't odd enough
We've taken too much crap
You've pushed us round the sod enough
We'e scrapped and rapped and jawed enough
poked, provoked and prod enough
Something's gonna snap
Riot down on Broad street
Hand me a brick, a stick, a picket
Bottle, axe or cobblestone
Riot down on Broad street
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
I won't go down alone
And when the fight was over
they retired to the Clover,
Silver Dollar, Thirsty Scollar
Whatever pubs they had back then
The Brownstone was in ashes
Broken Bones and bloody gashes
and a casket sat on Broad street
'til the sun came up again
Broad street's just not broad enough
and you just don't love God enough
and if that isn't odd enough
We've taken too much crap
You've pushed us round the sod enough
We'e scrapped and rapped and jawed enough
poked, provoked and prod enough
Something's gonna snap
Riot down on Broad street
Hand me a brick, a stick, a picket
Bottle, axe or cobblestone
Riot down on Broad street
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
And if I'm going down
Hell, I'm not going down alone
There's a Riot down on broad street (x 4)
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About Boston's terrible Broad Street riot between an Irish funeral procession and an English fire fighting crew. June 11, 1837