This is such a beautiful song. Rovics is so good at what he does. Right wing hate radio and racist, nationalist, and nativist scapegoating of immigrants has been a major theme of US political life as of late. And this song is an expression of resistance against that brain dead bull shit and in solidarity with all people the system labels 'illegal'. The chorus is right to the point:
"Will we open up the borders
Tear down the prison walls
Declare that no one is illegal
Watch the giant as it falls"
He's basically asking if we are going to unite in our common humanity with our brothers and sisters who are deemed 'illegal' to destroy the borders that are used to divide and control us. Because if not, we play right into the hands of the capitalist tyrants who would love nothing more than for us to be fighting each other while they screw us all over.
This is such a beautiful song. Rovics is so good at what he does. Right wing hate radio and racist, nationalist, and nativist scapegoating of immigrants has been a major theme of US political life as of late. And this song is an expression of resistance against that brain dead bull shit and in solidarity with all people the system labels 'illegal'. The chorus is right to the point: "Will we open up the borders Tear down the prison walls Declare that no one is illegal Watch the giant as it falls" He's basically asking if we are going to unite in our common humanity with our brothers and sisters who are deemed 'illegal' to destroy the borders that are used to divide and control us. Because if not, we play right into the hands of the capitalist tyrants who would love nothing more than for us to be fighting each other while they screw us all over.