Sleep Now in the Fire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Sleep Now in the Fire" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Rage Against the Machine | ||
| from the album The Battle of Los Angeles (album) | ||
| Released | 2000 | |
| Format | CD | |
| Recorded | 1998 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 03:25 | |
| Label | Epic Records | |
| Producer(s) | Brendan O'Brien | |
| Rage Against the Machine singles chronology | ||
| Guerrilla Radio | Sleep Now in the Fire | Testify |
"Sleep Now in the Fire" is a rapcore song by Rage Against the Machine, released on their album The Battle of Los Angeles in 1999 and as a single in 2000. The song contains lyrics about greed, such as the conquest of Native Americans and U.S. Slavery in the 1800s as well as criticism of actions taken by the US government in wartime, including the bombing of Hiroshima and the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. The song title itself may refer to use of napalm in the latter conflict. It might also refer to the fact that the American people are not aware of the atrocities perpetrated by their government.
Another reference found in the video is to a quote by Francis Fukuyama that the collapse of the Soviet Union meant "the end of history." In the context of the song this refers to the acceptance of capitalism as the only viable economic system following the collapse of socialism in the USSR in the mind of contemporary people. This can be found in the line "there is no other pill to take, so swallow the one that made you ill." This line showing that the band view this as an unhelpful position to human development. At the end of the song, there is some sound from a Korean radio station that guitarist Tom Morello picked up on his amp.
The music video for the song was directed by Michael Moore and featured the band playing in front of the New York Stock Exchange, along with scenes from a mock-up of the popular television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire which is satirically named "Who Wants to Be Filthy F*cking Rich". During the filming of the video, Moore was detained by police for an hour, and the NYSE closed its doors during mid-day trading because of the crowds that gathered to watch the filming. Quoted at the end of the song is Republican politician Gary Bauer stating that, "a band called 'The Machine Rages On' - er - 'Rage Against the Machine', that band is anti-family and it's pro-terrorist," following an incident outside of fellow Republican Alan Keyes' 2000 primary campaign town hall event, where Keyes jumped into a mosh pit that was playing the music of Rage Against the Machine. [1] There is briefly at the end of the music video, possibly a single frame where a difficult-to-identify figure emerges. Actor Garrett Wang is briefly seen in the video enjoying the music.
The video was nominated at the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rock Video but lost to Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff".
[edit] Solo
Tom Morello performs the solo by changing the pitch of the feedback from his amp with the whammy bar while flicking his pickup toggle switch back and forth.
[edit] Track listing
- "Sleep Now In The Fire"
- "Bulls On Parade [Live Version]"
- "Freedom [Live Version]"
- "Sleep Now In The Fire [Live Version]"
