ROLL RIGHT

Prior to the release of Evil Empire in 1996, Rage Against the Machine went through several iterations of the song Roll Right. Although the instrumentals and song structure were virtually unchanged, the lyrics evolved considerably. An original version, V1, was performed at least three times in 1995 before V2 appeared as recorded on Evil Empire. In 2019, a chance discovery revealed a third studio-recorded version, V1.5, appeared on a 2018 remastered reissue of Evil Empire, seemingly in error.

In April 2019, the engineer at SST GmbH responsible for cutting the master plate for the reissue was asked about the provenance of the recording but declined to comment. Tom Morello was asked about this version and said he both never heard it and does not know how SST obtained it. His best guess: this was an early version of Roll Right that was placed in a "finished" pile but was later rewritten and remained in an archive somewhere until it was recently unearthed by accident.

The lyrics on V1.5 take elements from V1 and also elements of Down Rodeo, yielding a rare glimpse into the evolution of the song-writing process for Evil Empire. This page is dedicated to transcribing the "lost" lyrics to V1 and V1.5. Hover over verses for annotations and interpretations.
A work in progress since 2012.

2022 Update: In August 2022, I sat down with Zack and asked him about this bizarre recording. He didn't know it existed amd was shocked I transcribed the lyrics. He said it's him sketching out the song in studio. He gasped at the "crosses in their pockets" line. He forgot it and was so happy I reminded him, saying, "That shit was fire."

It was also confirmed that Down Rodeo verse 1 was initially meant to be used in Roll Right before finding a new home. His best guess as to how this shit got pressed to vinyl? Maybe someone was on their way out at a job and wanted to cause some problems.

Either way, case closed.