Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, an indie rock trio that rose out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the late ‘90s, has crossed swords with the Department of Homeland Security, which is using their version of the song “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” in a video.
BMRC’s press representative distributed the band’s memo to the DHS on Thursday, July 10.
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“It has come to our attention that the Department of Homeland Security is improperly using our recording of “God's Gonna Cut You Down” in your latest propaganda video. It is obvious that you don’t respect Copyright Law and Artist Rights any more than you respect Habeas Corpus and Due Process rights, not to mention the separation of Church and State per the US Constitution,” it reads.
“For the record, we hereby order DHS to cease and desist the use of our recording and demand that you immediately pull down your video,” the statement adds.
“Oh, and go f... yourselves,” it concludes.
The statement was also shared on the band’s social media channels to a mixed reception from fans.
“Been listening to you guys for almost 20 years. Still love the music, but the political stuff on social media since 2020 has been a real turn off. Politics only divide…,” one wrote.
Other fans, however, disagreed with that take.
“you can't really be a fan since you said they've only been political since 2020. They have been political since the very beginning,” one wrote.
“This is why you are one of my favorite bands,” another fan added.
“Not only did they use your song, but it’s a Johnny Cash cover… a man who was very critical of the US governments’ treatment of indigenous Americans, and their war machine. They couldn’t be any more dense even if they tried,” commented another.
The trio has had previous success securing authorized placements of their recording of the historic song.
Back on May 3, 2024, the band posted on Instagram that their recording of the song was going to be featured in the premiere of the Netflix show Man in Full.
“For the premiere of ‘Man In Full’ on Netflix this week we’ve released three different mixes to our cover of ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ featured in the series. There are layers of stories and history in songs, we'd like to give a nod & thank you to those who originally recorded some of the first versions: Golden Gate Quartet 1946-1947, The Jubalaires 1947, Bill Landford & The Landfordaires 1950, Odetta 1957. We discovered the song being fans of Odetta and after Johnny Cash’s recording was released discovered others,” the band posted at the time.
“We initially tried doing a version ages ago but weren’t sure where it should go, so it was curious being asked to approach the song again in a few different ways for this series. Big thanks to those who helped collaborate on it along the way, all the best to everyone we hope you can enjoy & find good things along the way,” it added.
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