We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)
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| "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" | ||
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| Song by Peter Gabriel | ||
| from the album So | ||
| Released | 1986 | |
| Genre | Art Rock | |
| Length | 3:22 | |
| Label | Geffen | |
| Writer(s) | Peter Gabriel | |
| Producer(s) | Peter Gabriel, Chris Hughes and Daniel Lanois | |
| So track listing | ||
| Big Time (7) |
"We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" | This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds) (9) |
We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37) is a track by Peter Gabriel of his breakthrough album So.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Unlike the rest of the tracks on So, We Do What We're Told is a lot darker in meaning and in composition. The song refers to Milgram's experiment of obedience in which it was tested if people would do what they are told to do despite consequence and free will. In this case the person involved was asked a question. If he/she answered wrong an apparent electro shock was sent to another person in a room next door. However, that was person was only an actor and faked his pain as there was no real shock. However, the people in the experiment failed to know this. As the questions went on, the people were told the shock's level was increased and the actor attempted to show his pain increasing. The people answering the questions, hearing the suffering of the other person wanted to stop yet they were told to keep answering, doing what they were told, 37 out of 40 administered the full shock. Another Peter Gabriel song, Shock the Monkey of his Peter Gabriel IV album has also been linked to the Milgram experiment yet this has not been stated by Peter Gabriel.
[edit] Title Meaning
The "37" is a direct reference to the 37 out of 40 compliant people in Milgram's experiment who administered the full shock level in the experiment. We Do What We're Told, refers to the 37 "doing what they we're told" despite their free will and the consequences above.
[edit] Live Version
We Do What We're Told has been played live by Peter Gabriel before at his concerts before and after the release of So. However, before So was released not many of the crowd knew the meaning of the song. This caused a lot of confusion and when Peter Gabriel got the crowd to sing, "We do what we're told," hardly any of the crowd knew what the point was, they were simply doing what they were told.[1]
[edit] Lyrics
We Do What We're Told
We Do What We're Told
We Do What We're Told
Told To Do
We Do What We're Told
We Do What We're Told
We Do What We're Told
Told To Do
One God
One Voice
One War
One Truth
One Dream
