Propagandhi - Comply/Resist Lyrics






Circa 1992, Hitchens faxed his copy through
As "Regards Columbus Day"
And if you'll permit me the conceit of a posthumous critique
I'll paraphrase:

"My colorful, exotic friend
Respectable, well spoken
Unlike the rest of them
As you know I'm color-blind and you're a credit to your kind

This silly talk of resurgence, ceremony, communion with
An unconquered natural world
Tell me, where is your gratitude for all we've done for you?

This paradise. Eden. Empire. Kingdom

This boundless epoch we've bestowed
Upon your savage, empty lands
Well of course mistakes were made
But as far as human progress goes
Welcome to a slightly higher plane
Of innovation and opportunity
For your trampled communities
The treaties that we broke
The lands that we filched
The settlements put to the torch
The children we abused
All for your own good of course

It just happens to to be the way history has been made
Just don't play with a toy gun or change lanes without signalling
Don't comply, don't resist, 'cause it don't make no difference

Comply? Resist? No difference
Resist? Comply? You die

The funny names you give your kids
The silly ways you do your hair
The jungle music that you blare
We snicker and we sneer
For they do not revere
The incessant gadgetry we incessantly deploy
To incessantly extract and incessantly destroy

You don't worship us
Oh, why don't you worship us?

Resist? Comply? You die





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Propagandhi Comply/Resist Comments
  1. t.... ....

    You guys are my biggest role models

  2. D.... P....

    This album feels right

  3. l.... m....

    I didn't think it could get better than Supporting Caste... I take it back.

  4. J.... F....

    Thank you eh! You were right, not just a faded sticker on a skateboard.

  5. A.... S....

    Hitchens would wipe the floor with the ideological rigamortis of propagandhi.

  6. S.... N....

    Wheres your gratitude? Don't you worship us?

  7. C.... ....

    at "has. been. made." i wonder how chris got that vocal effect, that is neat-o!

  8. B.... H....

    Thank you!

  9. k.... ....

    Referring to the legend that is Christopher Hitchens makes this song an automatic win! <3

    k.... ....

    I guess. It's not exactly a compliment to Hitchens.

  10. D.... M....

    Love this band

  11. J.... Z....

    Fuckin love this album and haven’t listened to 10 %

  12. s.... ....

    I think this album has the best lyrics since "Less Talk", but "Supporting Caste" is amazing both lyrically and instrumentally. I love all of this fucking band's albums.

  13. S.... C....

    SJW's favorite song.

    S.... C....

    Ya, I love it!

    S.... C....

    SJW soyboy cuck here to confirm this is one of my favorite Propagandhi songs.

  14. D.... R....

    Propagandhi is making things better since today's empire, tomorrow ashes. This band's really stuntin !

  15. C.... G....

    Fuckin wow.

  16. C.... T....

    What I don't get is why do people feel they have to disagree with the lyrics of the song here? Why would you listen to Propagandhi if you didn't like their message? Maybe that's just me, but I listen to music to connect with it on a deeper level. These guys are a fucking amazing band and amazing people! That's what I love about them! As for the douche bags bitching about their politics, maybe go find some right-wing Capitalist music to listen to? Leave the Anarcho-Socialist music for those of us who appreciate it.

    C.... T....

    ignorant commies you will be sorry when you have Sharia law in your country

  17. S.... K....

    cool ass album !!!!!!

  18. I.... K....

    Fucking Epic Guitargasm at 2:00

  19. L.... R....

    absolute masterpiece. their finest work to date. fan of 21 years here. I know every inch of Prop's work. This song is fucking boss. going to see them live ( again ) in about 6 hours or so

    L.... R....

    I'm fairly new to Propagandhi myself, have listened to HTCE and Less Talk, More Rock a fair bit at this point, and am working my way through the rest of their discography. Really enjoying it all so far, and super excited to be seeing them in Tampa come September :D

    L.... R....

    This song does indeed fucking SHRED, but I refuse to feel guilty about the color of my skin. Sorry prop. Take your historical injustice into the other room and put it up your butt.

  20. B.... ....

    I didnt think it was possible to make me as happy as I was the first time I listened to Night Letters

  21. T.... S....

    still the only diy punk band sorry fat mike

  22. D.... S....

    Thanks Chris, I know you're Canadian, and hopefully no matter how much you hold being the "imperialistic, consumerist, jerk-off, ignorant, gun-loving American" that I obviously am lol, but I hope you realize sooner than later (esp after THIS MANY ALBUMS!!) that you are so gifted. THE ONLY KNOWN BAND ON THE EARTH THAT I CAN LITERALLY GET AN AGREEMENT FROM ANYONE I ASK WHEN I SAY "WHO'S BETTER SOUND-WISE AND VOCALLY ETC? NOFX OR PROP?" ....the answer is the same everytime. AND THEY HAVE SINGLES/HITS!! Admit it thats sayin' somthing.

    D.... S....

    they wouldnt hate you

  23. B.... ....

    God this song fucking rips... I love this album more every day.

  24. T.... E....

    R.I.P. Hitchens, this song is pretty badass though.

  25. R.... M....

    Best band ever... ❤️💪🏻🙌🏻🙏🏻

    R.... M....

    Brutal!! Claro que si!! que te encuentro por el internet!!! XD

  26. T.... A....

    They keep getting better!

  27. J.... H....

    I love Propagandhi, but I'm having a difficult time digesting this album. I don't like it. I was hoping that Todd Serious tribute "I Am A Rifle" song was a sneak peak of a return to a more face-melting, blistering street-punk sound, but every new release gets slower and more technical. I expected rage and defiance in this political climate, and instead I got punk rock Rush. These guys have written some of the most ferocious, intelligent songs every screamed into a microphone (Potemkin City Limits!), but this release falls short. Just my two cents. Still absolutely love these guys, and will buy the album just out of principal.

    J.... H....

    "Punk rock Rush" is a huge compliment.

    J.... H....

    Yeah, that's kind of the goal of this band, is it not?

    J.... H....

    @Stephen Mlinarcik You must be new here

  28. W.... D....

    I hope they do a 2nd show in Vancouver. The Rickshaw's sold out and it's still over 2 months away. Either something fishy is going down (a wack site bought the tickets to resale at a higher price), or Propagandhi fans just ain't like regular procrastinating punk fans.

  29. a.... d....

    The toms sound so fucking juicy!

  30. c.... ....

    This song rips but I LOL at the lyrics. Propagandhi has always had a hard-on with the whole noble savage fantasy.
    Anyone that's studied the history of "native Americans" (mongoloids) knows that the level of depravity and savagery they visited upon their fellow kind (and innocent white settlers ) knew no bounds except for the ones in place due to their lack of development and technology. Human sacrifice, torture, and slavery were what they considered virtues.
    Sorry a-holes, you lost and we're all better off for it. Now if you'll quit poisoning the west with the 4 Corners Generating Station please (It's on Navajo land).

    c.... ....

    @EdwardoZ Found the NPC

    c.... ....

    ​@skakid9090 I would argue that the point being made is more along the lines of: "Fuck off with your childish, hypocritical cryfest over nations of people who engaged in atrocities against each other, conquered each other's land, and did everything else the Europeans did to them, but then people want to cry foul as if they suffered some type of unique injustice. The rules of the game were fine by them until they lost."

    c.... ....

    shorter chewbaccathedog: Jews argue with each other a lot, therefore we Germans should stop being so hard on ourselves about this whole "Holocaust" thing, amirite?

    c.... ....

    @chewbaccathedog WOW ok have you SEEN Sulynn fucking shred? That woman can play circles around you and pretty much anyone else.

    And have you considered that conquering a bunch of people and then doing a genocide is like... bad? Just a thought.

    c.... ....

    @Christian Marroquin I'm sure she does. Lots of people do. I'm also sure the band was pretty excited when a non white woman could do the job that literally thousands of white guys could do. In a band that is pretty much exclusively listened to by white people.
    As far as conquering people: The story of the natural world is that of resource competition. Evolution is the process by which species live and die by their ability to compete with others.
    Unless you believe in some non-scientific explanation that excludes humans from this process, we are no different.
    Europeans didn't do anything the Indians didnt already do to eachother (actually, morally, Indians did far worse crimes than Europeans - plenty of historical and archeological evidence).
    We Europeans were just better at it, and frankly have built a new world with far less violence, suffering, and famine. In short, we won because natural selection in Europe created a people that were just better at this.
    So, no apologies. I'll accept your grievances as legitimate when you swear off modern medicine, running water, farming, transportation, effective shelter, your computer, etc, etc.
    Unlike you I have spent considerable time on some of the largest Indian reservations in NA and can tell you they certainly love those things.
    P.s. the vast majority of Indians were killed by natural transmission of diseases for which they had no immunity. Europe saw a mass die off during the plague which resulted in selection for people with stronger immune systems.
    That said, at the peak, there were no more than 30 million Indians in North America. Mostly uninhabited land. There far are more Indians today. Guess the "genocide" didnt work so well.

  31. X.... s....

    The lyrics are on point with the band performing them but it seems the music has turned slower and produced all in all its a good song and good album

    X.... s....

    Have you listened beyond the intro? How is this song anything but fast?

    X.... s....

    Mount Average
    Yeah, seriously. If this is slow, the fuck is fast?

    X.... s....

    You must listen to Death Metal often if you think this is slow

  32. M.... ....

    Sadly the faster beat killed it.

    M.... ....

    MrMotherfuck123 that's the best part bro

    M.... ....

    The exact opposite is true. This thing is a RIPPER and the riffs broke my neck

  33. C.... p....

    I found PROPAGANDHI by seeing a rollercoaster in the water

  34. S.... ....

    Now im hard

  35. R.... U....

    11 payasos que no saben nada de la vida

  36. M.... ....

    What is this political garbage?

    M.... ....

    Yes, because this is the first political song propagandhi ever wrote...

    M.... ....

    Aaron Cover point out where I said it were...
    Retarded -.-

    M.... ....

    go to listen to sum 41 fucking douche bag

    M.... ....

    This is a song by the band Propagandhi who have been very open about their politics since the late 80’s. This was a very google-able question.

    M.... ....

    Its your creation of the planet! Thats why it sucks ;)

  37. m.... ....

    not typically a big fan of this band but this song is fuckign sick

  38. y.... b....

    whole album fukin amazing best band ever period

    y.... b....

    How ironic you actually didn't use period in this statement.

    y.... b....

    The best thing is them getting better and better every release, fucking brilliant stuff, never a disappointment.

  39. I.... E....

    amazing!!!

  40. E.... G....

    Hell yeah!!

  41. B.... ....

    great sound!

  42. w.... ....

    My favourite from the album. Wish Cristopher was still alive to be able to respond to the message carried by the lyrics. It would surely make for an interesting debate. I guess we'll never know.

    w.... ....

    wacha90 you know what he'd say ? "Why are you asking me about these savages?"
    You know why he'd say that ?
    Cos it happened 500 fucking years ago and has a different context to now

    w.... ....

    wacha90
    I'd prefer he stay dead, thanks.

    w.... ....

    Directed to Corey..You must be a child. Hitchens was a smart man. If he got an idea wrong, that is just cause he was human. He would be open to exchange of ideas and debate. Take some of Chris Hannah's advice "don't shoot your mouth off so much". Celebrating a great intellectual's death is pretty low.

    w.... ....

    Hmm...i read the Hitchen’s nation article and i’m not sure i get Chris’s (propagandhi) approach...Hitchen’s article made a lot of sense...humans (the species) are fucked was my interpretation but this song plays the race card...And i’m not trying to diminish racism by any means...who else read the article?

  43. C.... ....

    So good!!!

  44. j.... h....

    Circa 1992, Hitchens faxed his copy through
    As "Regards Columbus Day"
    And if you'll permit me the conceit of a posthumous critique
    I'll paraphrase:

    "My colorful, exotic friend, Respectable, well spoken
    Unlike the rest of them
    As you know I'm color-blind and you're a credit to your kind

    This silly talk of resurgence, ceremony, communion with
    An unconquered natural world
    Tell me, where is your gratitude for all we've done for you?

    This paradise. Eden. Empire. Kingdom

    This boundless epoch we've bestowed
    Upon your savage, empty lands
    Well of course mistakes were made
    But as far as human progress goes
    Welcome to a slightly higher plane
    Of innovation and opportunity
    For your trampled communities
    The treaties that we broke
    The lands that we filched
    The settlements put to the torch
    The children we abused
    All for your own good of course
    It just happens to to be the way history has been made
    Just don't play with a toy gun or change lanes without signalling
    Don't comply, don't resist, 'cause it don't make no difference

    Comply? Resist? No difference
    Resist? Comply? You die

    The funny names you give your kids
    The silly ways you do your hair
    The jungle music that you blare
    We snicker and we sneer
    For they do not revere
    The incessant gadgetry we incessantly deploy
    To incessantly extract and incessantly destroy

    You don't worship us
    Oh, why don't you worship us?

    Resist? Comply? You die"

    j.... h....

    gocsa reread it.
    It's blatant racist colonialism.

    j.... h....

    reread it. it's not. but i assume colonialism in your eyes can only be 'racist'.

    j.... h....

    racist colonialism is pretty much a tautology actually

    j.... h....

    gocsa 1) Yes, you can judge things that happened hundreds of years ago based on the moral standards of today. In fact you must. Because that is what is called progress. Just because people back then didn't think it was all that bad doesn't mean that it wasn't bad. It just means that they didn't know better but that doesn't make them innocent either. They still inflicted unspeakable evils on others and we, humanity as a whole, need to atone for our sins of the past and do better in the future.

    2) No civilization founded itself on defeating and eradicating other people. What history shows is that one civilization gains a technological advantage, and the "defeat and eradication" happens when they refuse to share and help along other people, and instead exploit that advantage to murder, enslave, pillage, rape and conquer their way over less advanced people. Might does not make right and just because indians also had wars amongst themselves doesn't make it okay for white settlers to slaughter them wholesale. The forced integration of those people and leaving them technically "more advanced" than later on also does not justify the genocide they underwent. There could have been better, peaceful methods to share knowledge and land if not for greed and racism.

    Finally, fuck you and your neocolonialist bullshit, and fuck Hitchens too.

  45. �.... ....

    sounds like Jacoby Shaddix's brother

    �.... ....

    jacoby with balls and brain

  46. M.... W....

    1:40 these classic propaghandhi riffs <3

  47. g.... ....

    This song should have been titled "Extreme White Guilt". I never really cared for Propagandhi's message. But they write such good songs I can't help loving them.

    g.... ....

    What part of "they write such good songs I can't help loving them" was unclear to you?

    g.... ....

    Why hasn't the ADL or the antisemitism police ever come after Propagandhi??

    g.... ....

    i doubt they would like you to enjoy their songs.

    g.... ....

    existential. anarchist Why should he care if they would or wouldn't like him? This isn't highschool.

    g.... ....

    It's about casual racism by people like yourself. The only people who ever whine about 'white guilt' are reactionary douchebags

  48. D.... H....

    Interesting

  49. J.... A....

    MUITO BOM. ABRAÇO.

  50. M.... M....

    Awesome!!

  51. M.... _....

    I love this

  52. p.... ....

    This album is good. But it is slow, slightly overproduced, and way too technical. This is what you get when punks learn how to play their instruments. I'll go listen to Supporting caste instead - one more time.

    p.... ....

    yeah people really shouldn't ever expand their talents how dumb ... YOU fuckin GOOf

    p.... ....

    supporting caste was waaaay more technical. albeit better than this so far. But if you check out some of Giant Sons (I believe the name of the beaves old band) you'll see some of supporting caste groundwork was laid therein. So, new guitarist = new approach to it all. But this song just fucking rocks anyways. Long life Prop!

    p.... ....

    I mean, they haven't really been punk since the 90's.

    p.... ....

    I mean, compared to "anchorless", its much heavier ;-).

    p.... ....

    its all good dude you do your thing
    i’ll do mine don’t be a dick
    aboot it

  53. S.... M....

    Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!