Pamela Means' many honors include being named Falcon Ridge Folk Festival's #1 "Most Wanted New Artist", and both Wisconsin's "Folk Artist of the Year", and "Female Vocalist of the Year". Pamela has also been a Boston Music Award Nominee ("Outstanding Contemporary Folk Artist").
Currently, Pamela performs over 150 shows a year at clubs, coffeehouses, colleges, and festivals across the country, most notably the Newport Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, South by Southwest Conference, Southern Womyn's Fest, and Michigan Womyn's Festival. Pamela is also a favorite at innumerable regional Gay Pride events, Take Back the Night rallies, and Black History Month celebrations. Pamela has shared the stage with artists including Ani DiFranco, Joan Baez, Neil Young, Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens, Patty Larkin, Melissa Ferrick, Violent Femmes, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, and Holly Near.
Pamela's 2003 summer tour took her nationwide, promoting her fifth self-released album, Single Bullet Theory (Wirl Records, 2003), in which "...Means fires off what is easily one of the best musical summanations of our current political situation.." (Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco, CA)
Quoting her inspiration, Warrior Poet Audre Lorde, Pamela asks "I am myself- a Black woman warrior poet doing my work- come to ask you, are you doing yours?" With Truth as ammunition, a Pamela Means performance brings the fight for social justice and human dignity to the forefront of a new generation..
The Devil's Henchmen
Pamela Means Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Faggot nigger hit the ground
A day in the life of the great machine
Men in hoods of white parade in the street
Another mistrial after murdering
A black man
A black man
I don't think they're done
I don't think they're done
Hangin' us by the neck
Lynching comes in subtle flavor
Drugs and guns and heavy labor
You might get parole or a Ph.D.
With selectively doled out opportunity
Bought and sold for centuries
Freedom comes but it ain't free
I don't think they're done
I don't think they're done
I don't think they're done
Hangin' us by the neck
Pamela Means's song The Devil's Henchmen is a powerful and emotional commentary on the epidemic of racism and violence against black people in America. The opening lyrics refer to the sound of hate on the trigger, which is deafening. The hateful language in the song includes the use of the words "faggot" and "nigger" and the violent imagery of a black man getting shot and killed. The song then moves on to criticize the system that perpetuates this violence, referencing the great machine that is responsible for it. The whites in the hood are a reference to the KKK, who are still actively involved in acts of racism and violence today.
The song then touches on the subject of systemic racism, suggesting that the judicial system doesn't always bring justice for black people, with mistrials following the murder of a black man. The lyrics "I don't think they're done, hangin' us by the neck" suggest that the violence and oppression will continue. The subsequent verse describes the more subtle forms of racism and oppression, such as racial profiling in the criminal justice system, denying opportunities for black people, and the commercialization of black people's experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Hate on the trigger is a deafening sound
The sound of hate being shot from a gun is overpowering.
Faggot nigger hit the ground
A homophobic and racist slur used to describe someone who has been killed.
A day in the life of the great machine
A typical day in this society that values and perpetuates oppression.
Men in hoods of white parade in the street
Ku Klux Klan members march openly and with pride in the streets.
Another mistrial after murdering
Another trial resulting in no justice after someone has been killed.
A black man
This refers to the victim of the killing in the previous line.
I don't think they're done
The oppression and violence is ongoing and seems like it won't end.
Hangin' us by the neck
Referencing historical lynchings of black people in the US, a brutal form of murder by hanging.
Lynching comes in subtle flavor
Lynching and other forms of violence and oppression can take on more subtle forms, but are still present.
Drugs and guns and heavy labor
These are all ways that people are oppressed, through addiction, violence, and economic exploitation.
You might get parole or a Ph.D.
Some people are able to overcome the barrier of systemic oppression and succeed, but not everyone gets that opportunity.
With selectively doled out opportunity
Opportunities are not distributed equally, but based on privilege and access to resources.
Bought and sold for centuries
Black people have been treated as commodities and traded like property for hundreds of years.
Freedom comes but it ain't free
Even when legal freedoms are granted, it does not mean that barriers to equality and justice have been removed.
I don't think they're done
Again referencing the ongoing nature of oppression and violence.
Hangin' us by the neck
Repeating the image from earlier in the song to emphasize the ongoing presence of this violence.
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