Rage Against the Machine

Lyrics

13 ContributorsHadda Be Playing On the Jukebox (Live at Milan Dragway, Detroit, MI - July 1993) LyricsLookin' like a bunch of frat boys at summer camp and shit

Hadda be flashin' like the daily double
Hadda be playin' on TV
Hadda be loud-mouthed on the comedy hour
Hadda be announced over loud speakers
The CIA and the Mafia are in cahoots
It hadda be said in old ladies' language
It hadda be said in American headlines
Kennedy stretched and smiled
And got double-crossed by lowlife goons and agents
Rich bankers with criminal connections
Dope-pushers in CIA working with
Dope-pushers from Cuba working with big time syndicate Tampa, Florida

It hadda be said with a big mouth
It hadda be moaned over factory foghorns
It hadda be chattered on car radio news broadcasts
It hadda be screamed in the kitchen
It hadda be yelled in the basement where uncles were fighting
It hadda be howled on the streets by newsboys to bus conductors
Hadda be foghorned into New York harbor
Hadda echo under hard hats
Hadda turn up the volume in the university ballrooms
Hadda be written in library books, footnoted
Hadda be in the headlines of the Times and Le Monde
It hadda be barked over TV
Hadda be heard in side alleys through ballroom doors
It hadda be played on wire services
Hadda be bells ringing
Comedians stopped dead in the middle of a joke in Las Vegas
Hadda be FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover
And Frank Costello syndicate mouthpiece
Meeting in Central Park, New York together weekends
Reported Time magazine
Hadda be the Mafia and the CIA together
Starting a war on Cuba
Bay of Pigs and poison assassination headlines
Hadda be the dope cops in the Mafia
Sold all that heroin in America
Hadda be the FBI and organized crime working it together in cahoots against the commies
You might also likeHadda be ringing on multinational cash registers
World-wide laundry for organized criminal money
Hadda be the CIA and the Mafia and the FBI together
Bigger than Nixon and bigger than war
Hadda be a gorged throat full of murder
Hadda be a mounted ass, a solid mass of rage
Hadda be a red hot head, a scream in the back of the throat
Hadda be in Kissinger's brain
Hadda be in Rockefeller's mouth
Hadda be the central intelligence
The family, offing the agency Mafia
One big set of criminal gangs working together in cahoots
Hitmen, murderers everywhere
Outrage gonna make secret, drunk, brutal, dirty and rich

On top of a slag heap of prisons
Industrial cancer
Plutonium smog
Garbage cities, grandma's bedsores
Father's resentments
Hadda be the rulers
Wanting law and order
And they got rich on wanting protection for the status quo
Wanted junkies
Wanted Attica
Wanted Kent State
Wanted war in Indochina
Yeah
It hadda be the CIA and the Mafia and the FBI
Multinational capitalists
Strong armed squads
Private detective agencies for the oh so very rich
And their armies, their navies and Air Force bombing planes
Hadda be capitalism
The vortex of this rage
This competition man to man
The horses head in a capitalist's bed
The Cubans' turf in competitions
Hitmen in gang wars across oceans
Bombing Cambodia settled the score
With White House pots and pans
A warning to Mediterranean governments

The secret police have braced for decades
The NKPD and CIA keep each other's secrets
The OGBU and DIA never hit their own
The KGB and the FBI, one mind, brute force and full of money
One mind, brute force, and full of money
One mind, brute force, and full of money
One mind, brute force, and full of money
One mind, brute force, and full of money
And full of money
And full of money
And full of money

They hadda be rich and they hadda be powerful
They hadda murder in Indonesia five hundred thousand
Hadda murder in Indochina two million
Hadda murder in Czechoslovakia
Hadda murder in Chile
Hadda murder in Russia
And hadda murder in America
That was a poem by Allen Ginsberg called "Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox"
He's a great poetEmbed

If you are a fan of Rage Against the Machine, you probably know about their cover of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox” titled Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox (Live at Milan Dragway, Detroit, MI - July 1993). The band’s unique take on this classic piece of poetry is a shining example of their social commentary that they have become renowned for.

The song was recorded live in Detroit in 1993 and eventually released on their Live & Rare album. This rare track features the original lineup of Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk just a few months before the release of their seminal self-titled debut album. The sound quality is not top-notch, but that adds to the authenticity of the live performance.

Rage Against the Machine's music has always been known for its heavy and unique style, with their fusion of rock, rap, and metal, and Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox is no different. The song starts with subtle guitar and drums, gradually building up to the driving force that was and still is synonymous with Rage Against the Machine’s music.

About Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox (Live at Milan Dragway, Detroit, MI - July 1993)

Allen Ginsberg was a Beat Generation poet, and his poem "Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox" was a scathing commentary on the political and social unrest of the 1960s. The poem was written in response to the Watts riots in Los Angeles, which were sparked by the arrest of a man for drunk driving. The riots were a reflection of the tension and frustration that was simmering beneath the surface of American society during that time.

Rage Against the Machine's live cover of the poem is a powerful and raw interpretation of the original work. The band takes the poem's central message of social injustice and expands on it, offering their own commentary on the state of the world at that time. The lyrics are a blistering critique of the political system, the media, and the military-industrial complex.

The song's beginning gives the impression that the band is playing softly, but as the song progresses, the intensity quickly builds up. Tom Morello's guitar work is particularly impressive on this track, as he switches between subtle chords and heavy riffs seamlessly. Tim Commerford's bass and Brad Wilk's drums provide a driving rhythm section that complements the vocals perfectly.

Zack de la Rocha's vocal performance is, as always, outstanding. His delivery is raw and impassioned, and his lyrics make a direct, unapologetic statement on the state of the world. His voice perfectly captures the anger and frustration of the poem and gives it a new life with the band’s powerful accompaniment.

Overall, Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox (Live at Milan Dragway, Detroit, MI - July 1993) is a powerful example of Rage Against the Machine's unique blend of rock and rap. Their interpretation of “Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox” is a social commentary that is both thought-provoking and timeless, speaking to the frustrations of society then and now.

The song is a testament to the band's ability to use their music as a platform to express their politics. It is also a reminder of the power of music to unite and inspire people. Hadda Be Playing On the Jukebox is a song that remains as relevant today as it was in the 1960s, and it is a must-listen for anyone who wants to understand the essence of Rage Against the Machine's music.

• Release Date: June 30, 1998
• Artist: Rage Against the Machine