Lyrics:
The ritalin orphans whom the culture despised
Mobilizing an army of the marginalized
Those you tried to oppress, repress and restrain
Have found the hammer of Truth to break your shackle and chain
Wielding a sonic weapon of idea and will
The perpetual virtue, the flesh cannot kill
The Universal struggle, come and partake
Keep the flame burning bright, trample the snake

The eyes once plagued by darkness have seen the bright sun burning
The voice within the soul screams Higher Learning
The age of hate is over behold the new page turning
The writing on the wall reads Higher Learning

Thoughts:
There are two themes in this song that kind of intertwine. The first theme, conveyed in the rather outlandish references to “Ritalin Orphans”, armies “of the Marginalized” wielding a “Hammer of Truth”, referrers to a transcultural idea that exists throughout much of folklore, literature and religion of both the eastern and western variety: The triumph of the lesser over greater/ the deepest beauty existing in the most overlooked places.

The Brythonic-Celtic legend of Arthur perhaps best illustrates the idea. For those who grew up in a cave and never watched “Excalibur” or “Sword in the Stone” or read T.H. White’s Once and Future King, Arthur, is the orphaned son of Lord Uther Pendragon. Shortly after his birth he is reduced to the state of an unwanted and worthless societal burden. Now because of this, he happens to stumble across a fantastic, supernatural weapon which not only reveals that he is in fact the opposite of what he had been believed to be, but instates him as king and in many ways an a cosmic medium to secure community, preserve the weak, fight evil and ultimately bring balance to the cosmos. Now THIS IS NOT a suggestion that people who had the misfortune of being prescribed Ritalin while attending school should attempt to overthrow the PTA and instate some new form of whatever, far from it in fact. THE POINT BEING MADE is that the most beautiful things, the most valuable things, the most praise worthy things often manifest in the most unwanted and seemingly insignificant places, the simple and the humble as opposed to those who are resigned to glory, title and status, posses the greater capacity for beholding the beautiful and grasping the profound.

The second idea, “The Universal Struggle” is not intended to be a stupid marxist quip, but is rather based around a rather romantic idea that in playing this “ritualistic folk music” we call Hardcore, we are somehow tapping into this sort of sonic historical chain. That in playing this music with joy and the intention for moral action in our hearts, we were somehow united across space and history with Civil Rights Marchers in Alabama singing “We Shall Overcome” or slaves in the cotton fields a hundred years earlier using music as a medium for survival or Gaelic-Irish Raparees, humming Latin hymns as they are hunted down by Cromwellian Troops. As corny, romantic, metaphysically inconceivable, and even arrogant as it may be to some, the idea of jumping into this sort of moral/musical stream, this river of sonic liberation, for lack of a better word, and floating along with those who came before us, despite the obvious boundaries perceived, is one we find particularly moving.

(Please note that we are not talking about channeling, spirit conjuring or medium craft etc. This has nothing to do with such activity and is by no means an endorsement. Stay away from that crap.)