Animal Farm Soundtrack: 5 - It Can Be Done! by The Redskins

The final song in my Animal Farm soundtrack is It Can be Done! by the band, The Redskins. I had never heard of the band before i found this song, and to be honest, as I looked into their other music, I didn't really enjoy it. That being said, I think this song is a perfect choice to end the soundtrack.
Much of the time, what you here about the ideas of communism aren't very positive; the history of the system doesn't help its reputation very much. Yet, at the same time, I think it is important to not dwell simply on the negatives, but to end on a positive note. This song does that well I think. Although I don't fully agree with the message of the song...

Lyrics

Russia sparked the fires in 1917
First workers revolution
The first workers revolution in history
Working people forced the bosses' backs against the wall
First steps taken for a better life for all
It's a shame
It's a crying shame
When our past is buried
And our victories go un-named
It's a crying shame
When our history books
Talk of kings & men of fame
And in another country workers rose again
1919, 1919 in Berlin
But they didn't learn the lessons
From the Russians that they should
Revolution, revolution was drowned in blood
It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
All things are possible
Hunger of the 30's
Hunger of the 30's back again
And the rich still rich
And the poor still the same as they ever were
And it seems to me
We're still not learning from our history
And it's a crying shame
Those who hold the future hold themselves in chains
It's a crying shame
Those who bear the pain hold themselves to blame
It's a crying, it's a crying shame
It's a crying shame
Look at Petrograd!
Look at Barcelona
Fight against the land
Fight against the land & the factory owners
Same fight today against another ruling class
Learn a lesson from your past
It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
It can happen again
It's a crying, crying, crying shame
But the lessons plain
It can be done again!

Animal Farm Soundtrack: 4 - Police State by Dead Prez

Here, I would like to apologize for the language in the song - we're all adults here though, right? Dead Prez, if you haven't heard of them, is a great group, especially if you like hip-hop. Many of their songs follow the theme of the song Police State. They use their music to spread what they believe in and what they are fed up with. Many of their lyrics can be classified as socialist, even militant. They also speak out against corporate control over the media and, relevant to them, hip-hop record labels.
This is probably my favorite song on the soundtrack. That may at least partially be because I enjoy the genre of hip-hop. Yet it really is so much more than that. You really feel the emotion coming through in the lyrics. I am reminded of the animals and how they felt when faced with oppression. They came together, and they fought back. The sound bites, especially the last two, only accent and support that feeling of revolution. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did.

Lyrics

[Chairman Omali Yeshitela]
You have the emergence in human society
of this thing that's called the State
What is the State? The State is this organized bureaucracy
It is the po-lice department. It is the Army, the Navy
It is the prison system, the courts, and what have you
This is the State -- it is a repressive organization
But the state -- and gee, well, you know,
you've got to have the police, cause..
if there were no police, look at what you'd be doing to yourselves!
You'd be killing each other if there were no police!
But the reality is..
the police become necessary in human society
only at that junction in human society
where it is split between those who have and those who ain't got

[Dead Prez]
I throw a Molotov cocktail at the precinct, you know how we think
Organize the hood under I Ching banners
Red, Black and Green instead of gang bandannas
F.B.I. spyin’ on us through the radio antennas
And them hidden cameras in the streetlight watchin’ society
With no respect for the people's right to privacy
I'll take a slug for the cause like Huey P.
while all you fake ***** try to copy Master P
I want to be free to live, able to have what I need to live
Bring the power back to the street, where the people live
We sick of workin’ for crumbs and fillin’ up the prisons
Dyin’ over money and relyin’ on religion for help
We do for self like ants in a colony
Organize the wealth into a socialist economy
A way of life based off the common need
And all my comrades is ready, we just spreadin’ the seed

(Chorus)
The average Black male
Live a third of his life in a jail cell
Cause the world is controlled by the white male
And the people don't never get justice
And the women don't never get respected
And the problems don't never get solved
And the jobs don't never pay enough
So the rent always be late; can you relate?
We livin in a police state

[Dead Prez]
No more bondage, no more political monsters
No more secret space launchers
Government departments started it in the projects
Material objects, thousands up in the closets
Could've been invested in a future for my comrades
Battle contacts, primitive weapons out in combat
Many never come back
Pretty ***** be runnin’ with gats
Rather get shot in they back than fire back
We tired of that - corporations hirin’ blacks
Denyin’ the facts, exploitin’ us all over the map
That's why I write the shit I write in my raps
It's documented, I meant it
Every day of the week, I live in it; breathin’ it
It's more than just ****in’ believin’ it
I'm holdin’ them ones, rollin’ up my sleeves an' ****
It's cee-lo for push-ups now, many headed for one conclusion
***** ain't ready for revolution

(Chorus)
The average Black male
Live a third of his life in a jail cell
Cause the world is controlled by the white male
And the people don't never get justice
And the women don't never get respected
And the problems don't never get solved
And the jobs don't never pay enough
So the rent always be late; can you relate?
We livin in a police state

[police siren wails]

[Fred Hampton]
I am...a revolutionary
and you're gonna have to keep on sayin’ that
You're gonna have to say that I am a proletariat
I am the people, I'm not the pig

[another speaker]
Guiliani you are full of ****!
And anybody that's down with you!
You could man-make things better for us
and you cuttin’ the welfare
Knowin’ damn well when you cut the welfare,
a person gon' do crime...

Animal Farm Soundtrack: 3 - The Oppressed Song by Bob Marley and the Wailers

The third song I chose for my Animal Farm soundtrack was The Oppressed Song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. I'm sure that nearly everyone has heard of Bob Marley and his amazing music, so an introduction is hardly necessary for the guy.
The feeling I get from this song is that of the oppressed, the title really fits. The picture that forms in my head is that of the animals on the farm working all day to the best of their ability, but with no reward in return. Unbeknownst to them, the conditions under Napoleon actually become much worse than they ever were under Mr. Jones, yet they simply bear it. They, the oppressed.

Lyrics

The man oppressed will seem to do the worst
But with all he possesses self preservation comes first
His damnation comes not from burning free
As destruction of the poor is their poverty, is their poverty

While oppression is the poor man's choice
Ah, but in this he does rejoice
His burdens though heavy, he somehow bears
As for his seed, there's only one who cares
There's only one who cares

Though his pilgrimage extends, his progresses ascend
But as the prudent one exalts, he is gonna find his faults
But as the wise man sees, he knows, he knows
There's no rest in the west, so to the east he goes, to the east he goes
Where he can find peace of mind, oh

Animal Farm Soundtrack: 2 - Bad Horsie by Steve Vai

The second song I chose is Steve Vai's Bad Horsie. This song actually does not have any lyrics in it, it is purely instrumental. Sometimes, I find that the instrument alone can speak louder than words. If you haven't heard Steve Vai's music, you're missing out. He has been called a 'guitar virtuoso', as you can see from his amazing guitar skills, and his composition is amazing. Some describe it as almost lyrical, and I would have to agree. He is definitely one of my favorite guitarists of all time.
I like to think of this song as Boxer's theme song, although I think the song can be taken in many different contexts. Apart from the obvious horse sounds Steve Vai creates with his guitar that one can relate to Boxer, the song itself has a very stereotypical heavy metal feel in its 'chorus', lending to an atmosphere of anger. That anger could be any number of things: the animal's anger against humans, Napoleon's anger against Snowball, and the animal's anger against Napoleon, I think this song fits all of those situations. There is also a lot of complexity with the sounds in the song, almost chaotic. The more you listen to the song, the more you can find ways to tie it to Animal Farm. If you listen closely at the end, you can even hear the squeals of Napoleon!

Lyrics
(Instrumental)

Animal Farm Soundtrack: 1 - Animal Farm by The Kinks

For obvious reasons, Animal Farm by The Kinks is the first song I chose for my Animal Farm soundtrack. The song doesn't actually talk about the events in the story though - it is inspired by it. Still, I think it's an excellent choice to start off the album. Orwell's classic has inspired many, and clearly The Kinks are no exception. The song speaks to the time when Animal Farm stood what it was meant to stand for, a blow against oppression, against Mr. Jones, against the farmers, and against humankind. All the animals were free, masters of themselves. That's where the speaker of the song wants to go. Yes, it may be "just a dirty old shack", but its home. I liked that about this song. It wasn't about what Animal Farm ended up turning into, it was what Animal Farm stood for, why it became Animal Farm in the first place.


Lyrics

This world is big and wild and half insane
Take me where real animals are playing
Just a dirty old shack
Where the hound dogs bark
That we called our home
I want to be back there
Among the cats and dogs
And the pigs and the goats
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
My animal home

While I lay my head upon my pillow
Little girl, come play beneath my window
Though she's far from home
She is free from harm
And she need not fear
She is by my side
And the sky is wide
So let the sun shine bright
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
My animal home

Girl, It's a hard, hard world, if it gets you down
Dreams often fade and die in a bad, bad world
I'll take you where real animals are playing
And people are real people not just playing
It's a quiet, quiet life
By a dirty old shack
That we called our home
I want to be back there
Among the cats and dogs
And the pigs and the goats
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
My animal home
On Animal Farm
Animal Farm

Animal Farm: Final Thoughts

Through the progression of George Orwell's classic novella Animal Farm, readers take the journey with a group of animals who are sick of how they are being treated at the hands of the man to a utopian, dream society to an oppressive, authoritarian dictatorship that brought them virtually right back to where they started. Through this journey, however, the animals slowly lose sense of themselves. Although their rebellion is successful, the lone pig Napoleon slowly takes control and begins to restrict the freedoms and rations of the animals, as well as changing the Seven Animal Commandments that Animal Farm was founded on. At times, these changes were blatant; the animals, however, in their strong, and blind want to believe that their lives were better without the humans, blinded themselves to the facts in front of them. Napoleon succeeded in painting heroes as traitors, forging statistics, and virtually changing the history of the farm because he took advantage of this fact. His political deceit and corruption virtually made the animals slaves to him - he used the toils of the hard work of the masses so that he and his close circle of friends and allies would be able to live in comfort, while the rest of the animals received fewer and fewer rations, eventually eating less than they did under Mr. Jones. Unfortunately, the response to this oppression of their individuality was simply nothing. The animals only looked on as Napoleon slowly became the one thing they thought the removed from their lives: Man.