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Riotriot Lyrics

I have a secret to tell you
About the night I met you
You had come to put handcuffs on my brother
Down in the alleyway
I dreamt of making love to you
Up on the rooftop, looking up at the sky

Right before it happens,
There's no sign at all
One minute blue skies,
Then the rain begins to fall
Pop go the windows
Pop go the windows
So we can see you more clearly
Pop go the windows
So you can hear us
Through the night

Get real hot, blow your top
Get real hot, blow your top
Hiding in the alleyway
Get real hot, blow your top

They are writing and looking and they're knocking at your door
Who are you for
Who are you
Put your hand upon my heart, feel the beating of the wall
Who are you for
Who are you for
If you do nothing, you still do something
Do you see it
Do you see it
If you do nothing, you still do something
Do you feel me
Do you feel me

There is a freedom in violence that I don't understand
And like I've never felt before

Why did you come here
Why did you come here
Why did you come here
To our neighborhood
Song Info
Submitted by
j0nnynoname On Apr 13, 2011
2 Meanings

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Cover art for Riotriot lyrics by Tune-Yards

hmmm.

this is my first impression:

it's in a time of war. she is talking to a cop who arrests her brother as a political prisoner. when she says she wants to make love to cop, she is being sarcastic, alluring the cop into her trust, but she really wants ultra-violence.

she wanders who the cop is and claims he is like an alien in her home/neighborhood.


"if you do nothing you still do something" is like a general statement on apathy and politics.

wonders*

That's a really good interpretation. I never thought about it that way. The song sounds really kind of psychopathic now, like she's taking revenge on this brutal riot-control cop who took her brother away.

"I dreamt of making love to you," like you said, is gaining his trust, luring him in before she starts with the "ultra-violence."

The lines, "Right before it happens/There's no sign at all/One minute blue skies,/Then the rain begins to fall," also tie into this meaning.

"Get real hot, blow your top/Hiding in the alleyway," She seduces...

Cover art for Riotriot lyrics by Tune-Yards

Heard this album a little later than I would have liked, but this is definitely my favorite song on it. Its clearly about police brutality within an inner city neighborhood. "Right before it happens" suggests a police raid. There's danger in the air, and the residents watch from their windows, culminating in the "rain" - a riot. The narrator witnesses the actions of the police (the arrest of her brother) and suddenly shares the neighborhood's collective hostility towards them: "Why did you come here?"

My Interpretation
 
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