Strength In Numbers

Album: Prophets of Rage (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Guitarist Tom Morello described this call for unity in troubled times as "a Molotov Marshall Stack Manifesto." He explained: "We stand together or we fall apart. The world is in chaos, but if we're gonna go down we're gonna go down together... and we're gonna go down swinging. The question remains: can we be as united in the streets as we are in the mosh pit? Let's find out."
  • Strength in numbers is an idiomatic expression meaning that a group of people has more influence or power than one person. Other songs on our database that talk about strength in numbers include:

    "Strength In Numbers" by The Music ("Strength in numbers. No one will come between us.")

    "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson ("We are a part of the rhythm nation. People of the world unite. Strength in numbers we can get it right.")

    "You're Not Alone" by Of Mice & Men ("Keep on searching, strength in numbers. Don't let the world bring you down. There's always hope for the willing.")
  • The song's music video pays tribute to Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players taking a knee before games during the national anthem to protest police brutality. The clip also shows shots of actors in black face and people at gun shows. Prophets of Rage MC Chuck D said about the visual:

    "ALMOST anything can be built or toppled with a collective force. A movement is never about an individual. On the opposition of Colin Kaepernick in today's sports world, we ask 'is it the KNEE or is it The NEGRO'?"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.