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Pat Thomas - Give the Land to the People

from Freedom Songs 2021 Mixtape by Bay Area artists in support of Black media

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"Give the Land to the People" originally appeared on "I Ain't Buyin' It" released by Empty Cellar Records in 2018.

"The message of this song is rather explicit, I think! When writing political songs, I sometimes worry about getting too didactic, leaving nothing to the imagination. It can sometimes come across as corny or inartistic. Then again, as is the case with this song, I think it can work if you keep it extra simple. Just repeat the one phrase over and over like a chant or a mantra. I was definitely inspired by the way they chant-sing on the opening track of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

"I like the impracticality, or extremity of the demand, 'give the land to the people.' The idea that those who own the land would willingly just give it up is silly. If I'm going to be hitting people over the head with a blunt message, I want it to be something that pushes the boundaries of what is considered feasible. It would be corny, in my opinion, to write lyrics like 'medicare for all, now!' or 'we want rent control!' For a song like this to have artistic merit, it needs to be a little more far out. That's not to say that the lyrics were only written for the effect of edginess, that I don't actually stand behind the idea of giving the land to the people. I definitely do! But I guess it's the 'give' part that I'd disagree with if you asked me what I seriously believe needs to be done.

If we want to live in a world where land is no longer bought and sold as a commodity, we need a political revolution that overthrows capitalism. The capitalists will never 'give' the land to the people, we need to take it." – Pat Thomas, @patthomastheband.

credits

from Freedom Songs 2021 Mixtape, released January 10, 2021
Pat Thomas - words, music, piano, vocals
Henry Baker - organ
Richard Harkins - bass
Rob Mills - drums, percussion
Geoff Morris - alto sax
Nick Stockton - guitar

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San Francisco Bay View San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper, founded in 1976, is a radical news resource based in SF's Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood as a place for Black and unheard voices to speak and be heard!

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