"Testify" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

. It is the opening track from their third album ''

The Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...

'' (1999), and was released as the third single. The cover of the single was taken from the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute. The song's lyrics notably make reference to George Orwell's novel ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'' through use of "The Party" slogan "Who controls the past (now), controls the future. Who controls the present (now), controls the past."

Live performances

A song titled "Testify" was performed at the

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The st ...

Almost Acoustic X-Mas, 12.12.1993. The song is completely unrelated to the ''Battle of Los Angeles'' track except for the title. Although the song was played only this once and disappeared, some of the lyrics were used for "Down Rodeo" and the final version of "People of the Sun". "Testify" made its live debut under the working title "Hendrix" on January 23, 1999, at a surprise club show at the Troubador in West Hollywood, CA. While the instrumental part was identical to the final version, the lyrics were completely different. Rage Against the Machine opened most of the concerts in its reunion tour with "Testify".

Guitar and bass

The song, like many Rage Against the Machine songs, is notable for Tom Morello's unorthodox use of his guitar to create unusual sounds, as well as his use of

drop D Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitch (music), pitches to the open string (music), open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Musical tuning, Tunings are described by the particular pitc ...

(D-A-D-G-B-E) tuning. Morello plays the sweeping sound in the song's intro and verse using a mixture of effects and techniques. First, he sets a

DigiTech Whammy The DigiTech Whammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It was the first widely used effects pedal that could do foot-controlled pitch shifting effects. The pedal emulates sounds that a guitarist normally makes using the vibrato ...

pedal to harmonize a minor 7th above the note being played, and the delay pedal is set to a short, slap-back setting that almost sounds like

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

. Morello creates the sound by simply picking the open low D string and using his

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...

to slowly shift back & forth between the bass and treble frequencies. For the song's solo, Morello removes the lead from the jack of his guitar and taps it against the bridge, while manipulating his Whammy and wah pedals, creating a squealing noise; Morello sometimes uses this technique to improvise on songs live. During more recent live performances of the song, Morello sometimes claps the lead in his hands while manipulating his pedals for the solo. The bass in the song is also tuned to drop D, and Commerford plays the verse by simply sliding on the lower D string from the 12th fret to open string then back to the 12th fret.

Music video

The music video, directed by Michael Moore, features a group of aliens, with the title card "Aliens plot to conquer Earth!" followed by "Launch the mutant now!", after which a number of clips showing the two presidential candidates at the time (

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

for the

2000 US Presidential Election The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican candidate George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush ...

) stating the same policies and views on important issues, and the movie aims to highlight the lack of choice in the US electoral system. This is spoofed in the video as the images of Bush and Gore are morphed together, thereby creating a "mutant" that "appears as two but speaks as one." Other key themes in the video focus on America's reliance on

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

, with several clips of the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, and lines at gas pumps accompanied by the lines "Mass graves for the pump and the price is set." Other clips display modern industrialization and the

military industrial complex A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, juxtaposed against images of

third world The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

nations. Other organizations, topics, and individuals displayed in the video include: Exxon, George W. Bush's reaction to same sex relationships,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, know ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...

Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercus ...

, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, General Norman Schwarzkopf, the Christian Coalition, monster truck rallies, the Republican Revolution, and the corporate donations that each candidate has received. The similarities between the two candidates are displayed through sound bites of their speeches. Among the topics that George W. Bush and Al Gore agree on, as shown in the video: support of the death penalty, prosperity through

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

, investing in the future, support of

clean air Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

, and a ban on soft money. Each candidate concludes by stating "

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature son ...

." The video ends with a quote from

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...

: "If you're not turned on to politics, politics will turn on you." 3:23 of 3:43

Track listing

#"Testify" (Album Version) - 3:31 #"Testify" (Testifly Mix) - 3:50 #"Testify" (Rowena Projects Mix) - 4:23 #"

Guerrilla Radio "Guerrilla Radio" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine and the lead single from their 1999 album ''The Battle of Los Angeles''. It became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 song, charting at #69. The band won the Grammy Award ...

" (Live) - 3:35 #" Freedom" (Live) - 8:39

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testify (Rage Against the Machine Song) 1998 songs 2000 singles Rage Against the Machine songs Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Music videos directed by Michael Moore Songs written by Tom Morello Songs written by Brad Wilk Songs written by Tim Commerford Songs written by Zack de la Rocha Nu metal songs