Behind the Lyrics: Tom Morello - “How Long”

(Photo Credit: Justin Becker)

Here at Alt Revue, we love a good collaboration, and Tom Morello's The Atlas Underground (2018) and the several that followed always provide that. 

I was trying to focus on a project, so I put this album on, and it wasn't long before I was lost in the hypnotic trance of much of the album, but this song in particular really stood out to me.

Let's jump in. 

"How Long" -- Tom Morello (feat. Steve Aoki & Tim Mcllrath) 

[Refrain]

And how long?

And how long?

And how long?

With lights and sound

We drown them out

With lights and sound

We drown them out

With lights and sound

We drown them out

With lights and sound

We drown them out

[Pre-Chorus]

From the red ropes to the masses

We are one and the same

Every billboard we are burning

A delusion up in flames

[Chorus]

And how long can we dance around

The hungry mouths, the burning streets?

And how long can we drown them out

With lights and sound

While the bombs fall at our feet?

And how long can we drown them out

With lights and sound

While the bombs fall at our feet?

[Refrain]

And how long?

And how long?

With lights and sound

We drown them out

With lights and sound

We drown them out

With lights and sound

We drown them out

With lights and sound

We drown them out

[Pre-Chorus]

From the red ropes to the masses

We are one and the same

Every billboard we are burning

A delusion up in flames

[Chorus]

And how long can we dance around

The hungry mouths, the burning streets?

And how long can we drown them out

With lights and sound

While the bombs fall at our feet?

While the bombs fall at our feet

While the bombs fall at our feet

[Outro]

How long?

While the bombs fall at our feet

While the bombs fall at our feet

While the bombs fall at our feet

Now, while you may be looking at the lyrics and thinking, "This is simple." I absolutely agree with you, and this is why this song hits so hard. 

First, the electronic beats provided by Aoki adds that edge to Morello's guitar. This is essential because rock has been seen traditionally as a "punk" instrument, but the addition of electronic music shows a collaborative stance across genres when it comes to a message. You can hear this in other songs on this particular album, but I do believe this song does it best. The music choices and the lyrics are united in a way that is not often seen in music, especially protest songs. 

The lines "With lights and sound/we drown them out" emphasize that much of society's problem is that when things get tough, we go to the next dopamine trigger. And when the violence or pain gets worse, we get louder with our avoidance and luxury. 

The last portion: 

"How long?

While the bombs fall at our feet

While the bombs fall at our feet

While the bombs fall at our feet"

This is so clever because while we have seen these words in the song multiple times before, this is the first time we see them in this order. This order answers the question in the song—"How long?" How long can we avoid caring for our neighbors? How long can we turn a blind eye? 

According to this message -- "while the bombs fall at our feet". Unfortunately, until the pain and violence personally affect folks, they aren't willing to do much of anything. It doesn't mean we don't keep fighting. Until next time.