Chicago - State Of The Union Lyrics






I was talking 'bout the state of the union
How there's no one now in power thinking of me
I was saying how we ought to try to fix it
Find a leader who is not afraid to be
Then a voice came out of the darkness
Saying "Tear the system down"
Tear it down
I was thinking 'bout how that was very crazy
And I tried to find a way to tell him so
But when I did I used a word that was quite nasty
How the policeman heard me now I'll never know
Then a voice came out of the darkness
Saying "Tear the system down"
Tear it down - down to the ground
I was wrestled of to one side of the theatre
And they said I'd have to go right to jail
They don't permit coarse language in their city
But they did accept a large amount of bail
Then a voice came out of the darkness
Saying "Tear the system down"
Tear it down - down to the ground





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Chicago State Of The Union Comments
  1. D.... M....

    Great song makes me think off days hanging with my friends. Best days ever love Chicago is a great band.

  2. M.... C....

    Was Chicago talking about former president Richard Nixon for the second time??? I know that they did "A Song For Richard & His Friends" (from 1971 live "Chicago At Carneige Hall")

  3. R.... G....

    As much as I liked Cetera's vocals during the band's first 10 years, I always thought that Kath should have sung this one.

    R.... G....

    I was a fan of the whole band, with a special admiration for Kath and Cetera, as well as Lamm in the beginning. Kath and Cetera really complimented each other both instrumentally and vocally, as best exemplified by "Dialogue", which was written by Lamm. Kath seemed to lose interest in the music, as well as his appearance and performance, in his final year or two. Of course, his obsession with firearms ultimately proved fatal. His early death was such a damn senseless shame. Ironically, all the others have lived into their 70s having weathered the lovely decadence of the 1970s and 1980s.

  4. J.... L....

    Never more pertinent

    J.... L....

    correct. the scumbag robert mueller should nmbe torn down

    J.... L....

    @willard2729 You are just mad that Mueller got the dope on your Mushroom Messiah.

    J.... L....

    TheYellowTulips I’m 100% certain that babbling bob made a fool of himself and reaffirmed his corrupt soul

  5. T.... K....

    U.S. OUT OF AMERICA!

  6. T.... K....

    Now This IS STOU!

  7. V.... S....

    "TEAR THE SYS-TEM DOWN!"

  8. y.... s....

    old but new one.

  9. T.... M....

    b4 cetera became a pretty he was an EXCELLENT bass player ..can you hear? the fadeout with terry kath is superb

    T.... M....

    on of the top 5 greatest POP bassists ever. He just picked it up again a couple of years ago.

  10. L.... H....

    One of my favorite albums ever.

    L.... H....

    Same here.

    L.... H....

    it is my #1 of all time. who's next. abbey road. armed forces. all in the distance

  11. C.... F....

    Powerful song. Peter's singing is exceptional and Roberts genius in the writing of this song is perfect.

    C.... F....

    I was 18 when this LP was released in the summer of 1972. Going into college. Loved the music. Hated the lyrics of insufferable naivete of this particular song. "Tear the system down", you say? Yeah, right. And replace it with...what, exactly? By a bunch of 20-somethings with limited life-experience? Sorry, but I witnessed your "system" at Woodstock and Altamont, both in 1969. Drugs, hippies, and Hells Angels. No thank you!

    C.... F....

    Daniel Golus: It's just a song.

    C.... F....

    Janie Kaniewski yes

    C.... F....

    Never more pertinent

    C.... F....

    @Daniel Golus Shut up dumbass. Things were pretty fucked-up at the time, and it wasn't the fault of the 20-somethings; it was that of the adults with all their life experience. Besides, it's not actually advocating "tear the system down", that's just the point of view of the character in the song--though sometimes tearing down the system is necessary. (Isn't that what we were supposedly doing in Vietnam?)



    As an 18-yr-old, if you couldn't at least appreciate the sentiment behind the song, you must have been just as insufferable as you apparently are today.