Listen: Billy Bragg’s Anti-ICE Anthem “City of Heroes” Honors Brave People of Minneapolis
“Billy Bragg shot by Kris Krug” by Kris Krug from Vancouver, Canada is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
English singer-songwriter, activist, and forthright advocate for principled change, Billy Bragg, has composed a new song “as a tribute to the bravery of the people of Minneapolis.” Titled “City of Heroes,” the track serves as a response to the ongoing terror in the Midwest inflicted by ICE and resulting in the despicable, plain-sight murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Bragg shared the track, written and recorded in one day, on his official YouTube channel and across social media, along with his reflections on the crisis in Minneapolis: “The murder of Alex Pretti was horrifically shocking, all the more so as we are still reeling from the images of the murder of Renee Good. That these crimes can be committed in broad daylight, on camera and yet no one is held accountable only adds to the injustice.”
He continues, “I wrote this song yesterday as a tribute to the bravery of the people of Minneapolis who, knowing that these trigger-happy ICE thugs operate with seeming impunity in their midst, are still willing to put themselves in harm’s way to defend their community. Their resistance is an inspiration to us all.”
Like his folk predecessor, Woody Guthrie, Bragg uses musical discourse to support a people’s agenda–one associated with the common good and anti-hate rhetoric through the use of observations of the current moment and commentary on the past to avoid destructive repetition.
Bragg opens “City of Heroes” with reference to “the ghost of Martin Niemöller,” while recalling his famous warning against complacency: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Devotional cues of battle emphasize his message of resilience and support for the people of Minneapolis, “We will protect our home,” “We learn the lessons of history,” which further underscore Bragg’s final lyrics: “I will bear witness to terror/ I will bear witness to tyranny I will bear witness to murder/ I will bear witness to fascism.”
Listen and view the lyrics to “City of Heroes” below.
“City of Heroes” lyrics:
The ghost of Martin Niemöller
Haunts the halls of history
When they came for the communists
He said “It’s nothing to do with me”
When they came for the democrats
He had nothing to say
And when they came for the Jews
He just looked the other way
His silence didn’t save him
When they came for him as well
There was no one to speak out for him
Resistance had been quelled
What excuses would you tell yourself
If this ever happened to you?
Well I live in a city of heroes
I know what I would do
When they came for the immigrants
I got in their face
When they came for the refugees
I got in their face
When they came for the five-year-olds
I got in their face
When they came to my neighbourhood
I just got in their face
They use tear gas and pepper spray
Against our whistles and our phones
But in this city of heroes
We will protect our home
When they dragged people from their cars
I got in their face
When they took families from their homes
I got in their face
When they murdered our sister
I got in their face
When they murdered our brother
I still got in their face
In Dachau Martin Niemöller
Suffered for his complicity
But in this city of heroes
We learn the lessons of history
I will bear witness to terror
I will bear witness to tyranny
I will bear witness to murder
I will bear witness to fascism
