Under the smoke of Oakland
In and out, the streets are breathing
Under the smoke of Oakland
From a blind man praying for some silence
Take a load of my mind, not a
My best intentions always ended in a fight
You can send me to hell, expose me, I'll tell
Take control and tell what they're doing
250 dead, the Tribune read
Oakland's going off like a bomb!
Cuz the big wave is comin' to the shore
No surprise that you see through the lies
Of a system rotten to the core
High tech surveillance, paranoia and violence
Keeping the city at a calm
250 dead, the Tribune read
Oakland's going off like a bomb!
See, everytime I turn around it's the same old story.
And it just don't seem right.
And I wonder when's it gonna end?
One said Fight Back & The System Will Fall
Police came out with tear gas and flames
Chaos in the city beating them at the game
Don't pay the poll tax, the headlines read
30 cops beaten, another one dead
The fight lasted on til the break of the night
A thousand angry looters who knew they were right

brixton's a part of london where there were big riots years and years ago, ive never been to oakland and i doubt tim armstrong has done much more than play a few gigs in brixton so who knows if the comparison is accurate? anyway tim armstrong loves up the clash (and so should you) so i guess its also a little hommage to joe strummer and co, who lived around brixton and saw the riots in the 70s. actually there's a sick band called mouthwash who come from round there who Tim snapped up a few years ago when rancid played brixton academy, check them out they're on hellcat. "mouthwash"

I live right near Brixton. Alot of racist crimes there, I guessed this song would be about racism. Well, it has a high crime rate and alot of gun crime.

what is this song on? where can i find it?

hey memphis_punx it's on Rockstar's Kill, or something. I think it's a compliation. if you want it just email me - acid_maniac@hotmail.com

would make more sense for them to sing 'england' instead of oakland, with the title 'Brixton' and all...

This song was only released on Rock Stars Kill, which is a sequel to the influential Kill Rock Stars compilation.