April 1996 – Bulls On Parade by Rage Against the Machine – April’s Song of the Month
Evil Empire – Rage Against The Machine
The album Evil Empire was Rage Against the Machine’s second album, it was released on April 16, 1996, and debuted at #1 in the Billboard 200. To understand why Rage Against the Machine named their second album Evil Empire one must understand the band. Rage Against the Machine was an American Rap/Rock group that wrote songs about political oppression, human rights, war, injustice, classism, racism, and prejudice in the United States. The Album was titled Evil Empire as a rebuttal to former United States President Ronald Reagan’s slander of the former Soviet Union (U.S.S.R) during his presidency. Reagan once referred to the Soviet Union as an Evil Empire, which in the band’s opinion, can also easily be used to describe the United States of America.
Song Number 2 on the album: Bulls On Parade
This is a heavy song, so please turn up the volume to its highest setting.
Bulls On Parade Video
Bulls On Parade Lyrics
Monk Protesting the Murder of Monks
Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!
The microphone explodes, shattering the molds
Either drop the hits like de la O or get tha fuck off tha commode
Wit tha sure shot, sure ta make tha bodies drop
Drop an don’t copy yo, don’t call this a co-op
Terror rains drenchin’, quenchin’ the thirst of tha power drones
That five sided fist-a-gon
Tha rotten sore on tha face of mother earth gets bigger
Tha triggers cold empty ya purse
Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library
Line up to tha mind cemetary now
What we don’t know keeps tha contracts alive an movin’
Rage Against The Machine
They don’t gotta burn tha books they just remove ’em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells
Rally round tha family, pockets full of shells
Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
Bulls on parade
Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
What does Bulls On Parade mean?
The lyrics make it clear that the song is about the United States’ war industry/business. So when the singer, Zack De La Rocha, says, “Bulls on parade” he can be referring to the the stock market being a bull market. In United States history war has always helped boost the economy. “Bulls on parade” can also refer to the Republican party. The Republican party is represented by an elephant, a male elephant is also called a bull elephant. Republican’s have the tendency to lean towards war as a resolution to conflict.
Glossary
Rebuttal: is a noun. It is a contradicting argument.
Slander: used as a verb means to say false statements that damage someone’s reputation.
Referred: is the past tense of the verb to refer. It means to make referance to something or someone.
Shattering: comes from the verb to shatter meaning to break, or cause to break violently into many pieces.
Rotten: is an adjective meaning to be decayed or deteriorated due to time.
Sore: used as a noun is an open skin infection.
Rally: is a verb meaning to congregate or unite in support of a cause.
Shells: is used as a noun here and it refers to a bullet casing (the outside cover of a bullet).
Rubble: is a noun. It is pieces of rock left on the ground. Often referring to a place where a building was destroyed, the remnants are usually small, broken rocks; rubble.
Boost: is used as a transitive verb meaning to stimulate.
About the Medellin Buzz
The Medellin Buzz is for English as a Second Language students to practice and learn with. The Medellin Buzz is written in a way that is easy to understand. The difficult vocabulary words are in bold, these words are defined in the Glossary.
