The song refers to both the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as well as the trial of the Chicago Eight, where protesters at the convention were charged with intent to incite a riot. The first line of the song: “So your brother’s bound and gagged, and they’ve chained him to a chair” refers to Bobby Seale, the defendant who was gagged and bound to a chair in the courtroom following repeated outbursts. On Four Way Street, Nash dedicates the song to “Mayor Daley”.
[via Kanye West]
New Music United 