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about
So I took this class during my first quarter of college that cemented in my decision to not be a lit major. In this class, we read a bunch of shit, then talked about it, and then wrote a bunch of shit about it, and I honestly could not tell you what the purpose of the whole thing was. If anything, it was "MINORITIES ARE OPPRESSED LOOK AT HOW EDGY WE ARE."
Anyway, during the same time period, I befriended this dude named David. We went to a Streetlight Manifesto show in San Francisco, had the above class together, everything was fun. And then finals rolled around, and then came the saving grace of the class: the fact that we got to write songs as our finals. I wrote "The Tale of Gordon Freeman," which I still need to upload as of this writing. David, meanwhile, wrote "This Is An Emergency!" based on one of the works we had studied, "Emergency!" by Daniel Beatty.
Fast forward a couple of months, and our entire hall has suddenly started covering David's song. And I'm like, "Hey, I might as well. Haven't covered anything in a while." So I turned it into ska. Sure am glad we're done with the class, because the teacher probably would have told me that my love of ska is an appropriation of Jamaican culture or something.
lyrics
Trapped in their past, they stumble, they crash
Chains down by these forces, there’s no turnin’ back
Second-class citizens, left in this world, all alone
Knock knock on the door, a tool in this spark
A clear segregation, so close yet so far
Its child abandoned, and cold, all alone
This is an emergency, woah
Ships full of remembrance, and shame
This is an emergency, woah
Tell me now, father, who is to blame?
Remember your past, but never turn back
Sometimes it feels like a well in your path
It hardens your mind
Makes it hard to pretend
Your back will grow strong, your will leading long
Break open those chains, bound downward so strong
Your past is a road you can drive with no end
This is an emergency, woah
Ships full of remembrance, and shame
This is an emergency, woah
Tell me now father, who is to blame?
credits
released January 26, 2014
Words and original music by David Imel
This version recorded and produced by Ian Carlton
On their first new record in six years, the Virginia garage punkers take on the end of the world with the requisite clang and clamor. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 9, 2024
