Album: Rafi's Revenge (1998)

Charted: 56

License This Song 

• The scales of justice
  Weighed down on one side
  Freemassons on the case
  You know you're gonna get a rough ride
  Hold tight, even if you know your rights
  It's just a piece of paper unless you're prepared to fight
  For ten years, one hell of a long time to rot in a cell
  When you've committed no crime
  Another innocent man forced to carry the can
  Free Satpal Ram!
  
  Whose word against who?
  The degenerate crew out on the town
  Thought they had something to prove
  Self defence is no offence
  Had to protect himself from the murderous fools
  Cutting remarks on account of his race
  A plate to the chest and a glass in his face
  An Asian fights back
  Can't afford to be meek
  With your back against the wall
  You can't turn the other cheek.
  
  Back away all you trouble makers
  Fix up your brains 'cos you're the biggest fakers
  You come in the place
  Do you know who you are?
  Free Satpal Ram!
  
  Satpal Ram has been in prison for 10 years now, unjustly convicted of murder. He was attacked in a restaurant in Birmingham by six racists. Having been glassed in the face he had no choice but to def
  end himself. One of the attackers got injured and later died after refusing treatment. Satpal was subsequently charged with murder.
  
  Satpal was provided with lawyers who refused to argue his case. They made him change his plea of self-defence to that of manslaughter. Most of the prosecution evidence came from the group that attack
  ed Satpal.
  
  The all-white jury missed vital evidence because no interpreter was provided. The judge said he would interpret but couldn't speak a word of Bengali.
  
  The jury weren't asked to consider if Satpal's actions were in self-defence and found him guilty.
  
  It's taken ten years to get the Criminal Justice System to allow any appeal.
  
  Enough is Enough! Writer/s: ANIRUDDHA DAS, JOHN PANDIT, SAIDULLAH ZAMAN, SANJAY TAILOR, STEVEN SAVALE
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

• Helene Ryles from Birmingham, EnglandI've only just heard about this case but I think people have a right to defend themselves against attack. He shouldn't have had to spend all these years in prison and suffered all that racial mistreatment. Due to my disability (I'm deafblind asperger) I am not capable of self defence in this manner and my sight loss would make it impossible even for me to identify my attacker, but those who can should be permitted to do so without being penalised so much.
• Alexander from London, EnglandIt isn't my account that is biased, it is the accounts in the mainstream media that are at best slanted and at worst disgraceful lies that have been parroted uncritically. Re your comment, the victim's name was Clarke Pearce, not Stuart Pearce. Whether or not Ram had been assaulted by other people at other times is totally irrelevant. Pearce was unarmed, Ram stabbed him to death with an illegal weapon. And the only reason he turned himself in to the police was because he couldn't obtain a passport to flee the country.
  
  Ram was rearrested in April 2005 and was not paroled again until 2013. This time no one is writing songs about him.
• Philip from Manchester, United KingdomYour account of the facts around this song seem hugely partial and biased. Here's an extract from an article in the Observer newspaper from Sunday 30 January 2000; "In November 1986, then 20, he and two friends went for a meal at the Sky Blue Indian restaurant in the Lozells area of the city. A table of six white people also in the restaurant started hurling racist abuse at the waiters and complaining about the Asian music that was being played. Satpal responded with a call for the music to be turned up. One of the men, Stuart Pearce, then came at Satpal with a broken glass and stabbed him in the face. Satpal responded by drawing a short-bladed penknife. In the ensuing struggle, Pearce sustained a number of stab wounds and later died ... He himself had been assaulted a number of times prior to the incident at the Blue Sky. 'I've never refuted that a man died as a result of my actions,' he says. 'But the circumstances have never been taken into consideration. I accept that loss of life is wrong, but if I hadn't done what I did I would be dead now.' A week after the killing he turned himself into the police."

More Songfacts:

Beverly HillsWeezer

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo wrote "Beverly Hills" after seeing a photo of the group Wilson Phillips and imagining what it would be like to marry someone famous.

Chasing CarsSnow Patrol

Snow Patrol had a huge hit in 2006 with the love song "Chasing Cars." The title alludes to how dogs chase cars just for the thrill of it, the same way two people deeply in love will embark on open-ended adventures, content to be in each others' company with no clear destination.

Hell's BellsAC/DC

A one-ton bell was custom made for AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." The recording was slowed to half speed to make it sound like a more ominous two-ton bell.

Jump AroundHouse of Pain

"Jump Around" by House Of Pain turns into a diss track at the end when they dedicate it to Joe "The Biter" Nicolo, whom they claim stole the concept and used it on the Kris Kross song "Jump."

Super FreakRick James

The Temptations sang backup on "Super Freak" by Rick James. He mentions them in the song when he says, "Temptations, sing!"

I Melt With YouModern English

"I'll Melt With You" by Modern English is about a couple who melt together because a nuclear bomb drops.

Editor's Picks

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

The Evolution of "Ophelia"Song Writing

How five songs portray Shakespeare's character Ophelia.

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.