The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves) Lyrics
Another day, another riot
Another fire lighted
Has got you feeling down
They're coming with the cure
And demanding that you try it
I hear it’s the talk of the town
A little PMA through pepper spray
To put a little joy right in your day
Bringing cheer in riot gear
All you gotta do is obey
[Verse 2]
All the rank and file
Take their beatings and smile
As they cross your names off the list
Welcome to the fold
With a chokehold
Preach to the flock with a fist
Sunny days will dawn
At the end of a baton
Turn grey skies black and blue
Remedy the mood
With a blood feud
Here's what you gotta do
Smile at all the beatings
All the punches and the greetings
All the blows and the bleeding
Until you like it
Smile at being battered
All the bones being shattered
All the blood being splattered
Until you like it
Rejoice in all the horror
Until you can't ignore her
And you revel in disorder
Soon you’ll like it
Grin at the abuse
You've got nothing left to lose
[Post-Chorus]
The beatings will continue
Until morale improves
[Guitar Solos]
[Chorus]
Smile at all the beatings
All the punches and the greetings
All the blows and the bleeding
Until you like it
Smile at being battered
All the bones being shattered
All the blood being splattered
Until you like it
Rejoice in all the horror
Until you can't ignore her
And you revel in disorder
Soon you'll like it
Grin at the abuse
You've got nothing left to lose
The beatings will continue
Until morale improves
The beatings will continue
Until morale improves
The beatings will continue
Until morale improves
The beatings will continue
Until morale improves
About
This song is about how peaceful protesters are beaten.
Gary Holt, who wrote the song’s lyrics, says that the inspiration for the song was from the Black Lives Matter protests occurring in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Gary Holt:
When I was watching all the rioting and stuff, and the riot cops just beating people with sticks — a lot of peaceful protesters being beaten. And it just made me think. It’s a slogan; I’ve seen it before — the beatings will continue until morale improves. And it just made me think of that slogan when I was watching that in the background. What do they hope to achieve? If you beat enough people, they’ll submit and become compliant and submissive. That’s not the way humankind works — we fight back. And it seemed so counterproductive for me. So the song was written kind of tongue in cheek based on what I felt they were, I guess, hoping to achieve. But it didn’t work. It never does. You can’t beat people into submission — not anymore.
The rioting was all due to the Black Lives Matter movement ‘cause they were protesting being killed for nothing. And it’s horrible shit that they have to go through. I’m one of those guys who I’m a big supporter of law enforcement but I also understand that being a cop doesn’t give you the right to drag a guy out of a car and kill him for a traffic stop. If you’re killing a guy, it’s supposed to be done to protect your own life or the well-being of the general population, not because the guy didn’t wanna get out of his car. You’re not supposed to put your knee on his neck and fucking kill him. So that was the angle I took it from — it was based on the protests.
—via Blabbermouth.net
