Stop The Bleeding

Album: Civil Unrest (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Machine Head teamed up with Killswitch Engage singer Jesse Leach for this blistering track. The death of George Floyd and the wave of protest that sprang up in its wake served as inspiration for its lyrics.

    Beating after beating
    Throat choked under knee
    Help me please


    Machine Head frontman Rob Flynn wrote and sang the lyrics on May 27, 2020, the day that the four officers involved in the killing of George Floyd were (originally) not charged with anything. He recalled: "This day was engulfed in protests and riots across America. I drove into Oakland, past large demonstrations already happening and in a fury wrote down everything I was feeling after watching the horrific footage. Within hours, what I wanted to say, what I needed to say had been recorded in the song."
  • Flynn recorded the vocals over an instrumental track that the band had made back in December 2018. He'd already been in contact with Leach to provide guest vocals on it. "I had been speaking with Jesse for maybe six months about singing on the song, as it always had a little bit of a Killswitch vibe to me," Flynn said. "Unfortunately - or fortunately - our schedules hadn't lined up, but with the subsequent lockdown from coronavirus, we had time to make it work."

    After the killing of George Floyd, Flynn sent Leach the lyrics he'd written, and the Killswitch vocalist replied saying he was "100% on board."
  • The single's B-side, "Bulletproof," is another protest song partly inspired by the murder of an unarmed African-American man. In this instance, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was fatally shot by two white residents while jogging near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.
  • A portion of the proceeds of the two-track single will be donated to the Grassroots Law Project, which is representing Floyd, Arbery and another African-American killed by cops, Breonna Taylor.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.