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When the People Ride

by Adam Gottlieb & OneLove

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about

Our reggae single “When the People Ride,” with an incredible animated video by Melissa Mims, is meant to uplift the rising abolitionist movements all over the world, and especially to energize and support the struggle for community control over police.

I wrote this song after the attempted takedown of the Columbus Statue in Chicago following the George Floyd uprisings in 2020. The song uplifts the visionary spirit of the popular uprisings we saw at that time and have seen since then in Chicago and beyond. I want to publicly defend the use of nonviolent direct actions such as taking down statues of colonizers and occupying vacant houses out of necessity for survival. This is an anthem about the power of regular people to create change in our lives and neighborhoods, a call to action to unite for justice and accomplish great things.

Now, almost three years later, the public release of this song and video coincided with a City election in which voters were able, for the first time, to elect three Board members for their police district along with the next Mayor, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and Alderperson. It is a small but necessary step in the fight against fascism.

We want to appreciate the work that members of groups like the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA), Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), and Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) have done over the past nine years with the support of thousands of Chicagoans. We urge everyone to honor those efforts by making sure people from the neighborhoods who wish to hold the Chicago Police Department accountable are elected to these positions, and that members of the Fraternal Order of Police do NOT fill them. We are fighting for our lives.

That’s what these movements are about. The math is simple: They are committing genocide every day, We are demanding that they stop it, and we are taking action to stop them, at the ballot and on the streets, as needed.

The people gonna rise til the last one’s freed!

#BlackLivesMatter #AbolishthePolice #DefundCPD #NoJusticeNoPeace #NoHousingNoPeace #RevolutionNow #TearAStatueDown

To learn more about the New Police District Council Board positions, check out CAARPR's info page here: www.caarpr.org/peoplesguide-to-ecps

***

Dedicated to Chicago’s revolutionaries:
those who have been out here showing the way
and those who are joining the ranks day by day

***

With heartfelt thanks to all of our Patrons!
and special shout outs to our Movers and Shakers and Subcomandantes:
Peggy and Ed, Eve P, Bill and Yoli, Mary Ann and Bob

To support our work of creating fresh fusion music with a visionary message,
and to access loads more content and special perks,
please consider becoming a Patron:
www.patreon.com/adamgottliebandonelove

You can also support our work with a one-time donation:
www.bit.ly/adamstipjar
Thank you!

lyrics

When the People Ride
Adam Gottlieb & OneLove

Sometimes you gotta tear a statue down
Sometimes you gotta break into an empty house
Sometimes when the people ride you gotta choose a side
or be swept aside in the rising tide

Well, we do not know
Why they misbehave so badly
Those CEOS, and their police and their lackeys
If they could let go
of all their brutal force and excess wealth
well, we would be so happy to live in peace but they keep attacking, so,

Sometimes we gotta tear a statue down
Sometimes we gotta take over the streets downtown
Sometimes we gotta let em know who's really in control
even if it means breaking a few windows...

Well, we come in peace
But peace is what they never let us know
Their racist police kill our relatives and go back home
But we all believe
Another kind of world is possible
and it could be easy, but they keep on killing us so now we know,

Sometimes we gotta tear a fucking statue down
Sometimes we gotta take over an empty house
Some day when everything we need is kept for their greed
the people gonna rise till the last one's freed!

credits

released February 22, 2023
“When the People Ride”
song by Adam Gottlieb ©2020

Vocals, Guitar, Keys: Adam Gottlieb
Drums: Tim Williams
Bass: Patrick Baranovskis
Lead Guitar: Nick Bilski
Percussion: Aimee Bass, Adam Gottlieb
Backup Vocals: Leah Shoshanah, Haley LeRand, Aimee Bass

Mix by Patrick Budde @pb_perfectposture (instagram)
Video by Melissa Mims @lissalouart (instagram)
youtu.be/Am08LPCle-U

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Adam Gottlieb & OneLove Chicago, Illinois

Adam Gottlieb & OneLove weave together strands of Folk, Funk, Blues, Rock, Hip Hop, Reggae, Jazz and more. With songs directly inspired by the gathering movement for a new world, we offer our songs as a contribution to the soundtrack of our revolution.

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