Mark Lenover is a singer/songwriter who has been writing and recording musi… Read Full Bio ↴Mark Lenover is a singer/songwriter who has been writing and recording music for over a decade. In that time he has independently released seven full length albums and three EPs. His material covers a wide variety of subjects, such as social reform, gender politics and mental illness and recovery.

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The Coup
Mark Lenover Lyrics

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It's so dark, underground
We're drunk on Marx
A dozen rounds plus one
Come out with your hands up, or you die
Throw your guns down and reach for the sky

The chopping block
The cold gray cells

We'll make them talk
We'll give them hell
Come on'

Come out with your hands up, or you die
Throw your guns down and reach for the sky

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mark Lenover's song The Coup are a commentary on power dynamics and the struggle for social justice. The opening line, "It's so dark, underground," sets the scene for a revolution, with the singer and his fellow revolutionaries plotting in secret, in the shadows. The line "We're drunk on Marx" suggests that their ideology is Marxist, and they have imbued it so fully that they are inebriated on its ideas.

The line "A dozen rounds plus one" is a reference to the firing squad, indicating that their struggle is so dire that they are willing to lay down their lives for it. The next lines, "Come out with your hands up, or you die/Throw your guns down and reach for the sky," give a clear message to their oppressors that they are ready to fight, but also ready for peace if their demands are met.

The next lines "The chopping block/The cold gray cells/We'll make them talk/We'll give them hell" suggest that the revolutionaries are prepared to use all means necessary to achieve their goals, including violence and imprisonment. The chant of "Come on" at the end is a call to action, a rallying cry for the people to rise up and fight for what is right.

Overall, these lyrics are a powerful statement about the human struggle for freedom and equality in the face of oppression and injustice.

Line by Line Meaning

It's so dark, underground
We are in an oppressive, subterranean environment.

We're drunk on Marx
We are heavily influenced by Marxist ideology.

A dozen rounds plus one
We are armed and dangerous with thirteen rounds of ammunition.

Come out with your hands up, or you die
We demand surrender or we will use lethal force.

Throw your guns down and reach for the sky
We require that all weapons be disarmed and hands raised.

The chopping block
Our enemies face a grim fate.

The cold gray cells
Our enemies will be imprisoned in stark, inhumane conditions.

We'll make them talk
We will use any means necessary to extract information.

We'll give them hell
We will make our enemies suffer intensely.

Come on'
We are ready to take action and confront our opponents.