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.
When the men take me to the devil tree
I will be free and shining like before
Papa don't tell me what I should've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the wind wraps me like the reaper's hand
I will swing free until they cut me down
Papa don't tell me what I could've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the sea takes me like my mother's arms
I will breathe free as any word of God
Papa don't tell me what you would've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
I will be free and shining like before
Papa don't tell me what I should've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the wind wraps me like the reaper's hand
I will swing free until they cut me down
Papa don't tell me what I could've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the sea takes me like my mother's arms
I will breathe free as any word of God
Papa don't tell me what you would've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
Lyrics submitted by feverdream
Free Until They Cut Me Down Lyrics as written by Samuel Ervin Beam
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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Page
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
To me it definitely sounds like it's speaking from the point of view of a black man in the South who's about to be murdered by a lynch mob for associating with a white woman. His father blames him, saying if he had followed the "should've, could've, would've" restrictions of the white men and stayed away from the woman, he wouldn't have had to die. The son, however, asserts his humanity, saying that even though he will be killed, he will swing "free until they cut me down".
This is a beautiful song and recalled to my mind the lyrics from Arrested Development's song Tennessee, where the singer goes to the South and climbs "the trees my forefathers hung from".
This is what I got from it, a bit of a satirical song against racism in the south and executed blacks on false accusations. This might be something he saw as a kid?
The "devil tree" is a real tree in NJ where blacks were lynched by angry white mobs. According to locals the tree possess evil properties and is possibly a portal to hell. Now I don't know about all that hell mumbo jumbo, but it seems to me Sam is referencing this tree, thus making it more likely the song is in fact about a young black man being lynched for sleeping with a white woman. Maybe its a coincidence, but I don't think so given the other lyrics.
In either case, Sam grew up in South Carolina, where even today there are areas that you should avoid at night if your black. I grew up in Georgia and went to school in SC, and I can tell you racism is still alive and well in many places in the South. Sam certainly witnessed enough of this sick behavior first-hand to provide motivation for a song.
I can definitely confirm what you've said psell. Racism is more muted now, as people don't want a ruckus. They are quiet racists, and the media can't do anything with that. I'm in southern alabama. I moved here about a year ago coming from west texas. It's amazing the difference. There's still so many blind people.
I agree with most of this, but the freedom the singer is talking about is freedom of the soul. I'm not sure if it's a black man here, here's the story in a nutshell (as I see it):
Consider that if this were a lynching of a black man, he wouldn't say "when the men take me..." They would just take him on the spot. He seems to be talking from jail here. Despite this, he has a very calm and cool "I know something you don't know" attitude. What he knows is that "the men" can kill him, but not take his "word of God" freedom.
This is a song of a strange fruit.
(Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. By Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol 1937)
If the girl truly begged the man to take her home, why doesn't she speak up in defense of her lover? Probably because she's afraid of the backlash. This especially makes sense if the man was black and she was white.
Unless the man is lying, and he simply raped the girl and murdered her. But then the song is sort of weird and pointless, except perhaps as a story of egotism and blindness to one's own faults.
Reminds me of 'To Kill a Mockingbird', in which a white woman is attracted to a black man, and tries to seduce him. When he refuses her advances, she's embarassed and frightened by what she's done, and convinces herself and eventually the court that he's raped her. Obviously everyone believes her word over his because he's black.
I don't necessarily think that's the story of this song, but it certainly has echoes. The song may or may not have anything to do with racial issues.
Anyhow, as someone said above, the point of the song is obviously the emotion and meaning of the moment, whatever the events behind it.
I like how, when listening to it, the line 'take me home' could equally be him anticipating heaven. I think the driving rhythm of the music establishes the mood briliantly. It's almost as if he's so disgusted with the unjust world that he can't wait to get out of it - to go home.
I don't see the theme of the cross here, but that's just me. I think that this is a man singing about his imminent excecution for the murder of or crime against a young woman. He keeps saying, "She begged me to take her home" making it her fault somehow. He's not really free persay, but will literally be swinging free on the wind after he is hung.
Considering Sam Beam grew up in South Carolina, at the end of a time where rascism was quite bad. He could've possibly been talking about that.... maybe putting himself in a black man's shoes in the segregated south and having sex with a white girl...being extremely frowned upon back in the day of slavery, inspiring enough to write a song about.
Is he singing about being hung for murder? Sounds sort of like a woman told him to kill her ("Take me home"). So he killed her and is being executed for doing so. My interperetation might very well be incorrect. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
Great song, nevertheless.
Well, it is an "interpretation"... but I assumed he was caught sleeping with a woman, probably underaged. Or maybe just unmarried, an old-fashioned idea that would fit with the old-fashioned punishment of hanging. I'd like to think they loved each other and chose to have sex even in the face of a strict society, but that's unfounded. Anyway, as the song says, he was always a free spirit, and does not regret what he did. He chose his fate; might even be considered a martyr.