For The People rises to its moment: An expression of humanity at a time of relentless dehumanization, a promise of hope in an era of fear-mongering, a declaration of solidarity in an age of disunion, a defiant rebuttal to the charlatans and demagogues who seek to divide us for their own power and profit. (Tinnitist.com)

I have a long and somewhat bumpy history with Boston’s very own Dropkick Murphys, so I am more than delighted to seize the opportunity to review one of their albums at this important juncture in American history.

My initial introduction to the band came with the release of their debut album Do or Die in early 1998, at the peak of my punk phase. I’d never heard of them but I bought the album on impulse because I saw it was on Hellcat Records. As a huge Rancid fan, I knew Tim Armstrong was responsible for signing new bands to that label, so I figured these guys had to be good. When I hit PLAY and heard bagpipes, I had a “What the Fuck?” moment, but my faith in Armstrong was restored in a few seconds when the band exploded into full power mode. Thanks in large part to the rousing unison choruses, I could feel my Irish half rising up in me and fell in love with the album pretty quickly. A couple of months later, I caught their act at 924 Gilman Street, and surprised my uninitiated mosh pit buddies by singing along in the choruses, receiving a few loving bruises in the process.

Soon I was off to college in L.A., and as most of my readers know, fucking took priority over music for the next four years, and I forgot all about Dropkick Murphys. I was finally reminded of their existence after graduation by none other than my anti-punk father. I had moved back into the family home, and after another hard day in my shit job in a women’s retail store, Dad greeted me with “Hey, look at this!” and handed me a Dropkick Murphys CD with a cover showing a beautiful woman in Red Sox regalia with Fenway in the background and “Tessie” on the cover. I knew my baseball history well enough to respond, “What? Are the Royal Rooters back?” “Looks like it!” he responded.

Sorry, but one of my worst tendencies is to assume that Americans are versed in their history—including the history of their national pastime. I was surprised that I had to explain “Nuf Ced” when I used that phrase in my review of Aerial Ballet (see comments section). Since the lyrics on this album will take up tons of space, feel free to head over to Wikipedia to learn about the Royal Rooters.

Dad and I watched every minute of the American League playoffs in 2004, and I firmly believe that the updated version of “Tessie” opened the door for the Red Sox to finally rid themselves of The Curse of the Bambino. What sealed the deal was the shift in karma triggered when that fuckhead Alex Rodriguez tried to cheat by slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove. Big Papi, Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling took care of the rest. I was delighted by the change in fortune in large part because I was fortunate enough to catch a day game in Fenway Park the year before and fell in love with the place. If I ever set foot in the States again, Fenway will be my first stop.

For the next several years, I was busy trying to find my niche in the workforce. Once I got my feet on the ground, I had more time for music and started this blog with the intent of promoting the bands in the Seattle music scene. After realizing that I needed to broaden my offerings to draw more people to the blog and make people aware of those bands, I started reviewing contemporary music and throwing in a few classic albums to expand the generational reach. The pickings on the contemporary side were pretty slim, but one day in early 2013 I came across a new release from Dropkick Murphys titled Signed and Sealed in Blood and decided to review it.

What happened next never happened before or since: no one read that review.

It is true that at the time I was still in my short-and-sweet period, and my positive review wasn’t close to my best work, but the absence of even a “you suck” response was disturbing. When I temporarily shut down the site back in 2016 and embarked on a full makeover, I deleted all the crap, including the Dropkick Murphy review. In the following years, I still bought their records, but the memory of that zero-hits experience stuck with me, so they never found a spot on my review list.

I had originally chosen their album This Machine Still Kills Fascists for the midterms, but that worthy collection of songs set to unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics lacked the bite I was looking for. Though I was reluctant to break my “wait three years” rule before considering the album, I checked out For the People, and after one spin I said to myself, “Fuck yeah, baby, this is it!” Some may be turned off by the intense punk-metal music with heavy distortion in many of the songs, but the anger in those sounds is righteous and completely justified—and goddamn it, Americans should be angry! You live in a rogue nation that serves the rich and spreads hate and violence all over the world, and you’re getting screwed in the ass without the lube! As the Clash put it, “Let fury have the hour, anger can be power/Do you know that you can use it?”

For the People is more than a rant against evil. As lead singer Ken Casey explained to Tinnitist, “We’ve always had the same message and haven’t been afraid to speak out about what’s important to us. But for me now, I think about my kids’ future, and the next generation,” says Casey. “That could be anything from speaking out against injustices, or just simply making sure you take the time to tell the people close to you how important they are to you . . . “Many of these songs are about the issues that do harm to regular people,” stresses Casey. For The People is about . . . life. But life can be cruel, and I don’t want to side with the people that vote for cruelty, that vote against free school lunches for kids, and vote against workers’ rights, and enable corporate greed in the growing wealth divide. So if the point is to have a heart and help people, where do those characteristics exist with those that side with the billionaires and the corporations over the worker and the child?”

The credibility of Dropkick Murphys to deliver those messages is undeniable. “The Claddagh Fund was founded in Boston in 2009 by Ken Casey, and along with his bandmates and their families, they have supported charities throughout the history of the band.” “Understanding the power of their position to harness the passion and generosity of their fans, the Claddagh Fund was created to raise funds for and broaden our impact on worthy, underfunded non-profits that support the most vulnerable individuals in our communities.” In an unofficial Kindle biography of the band, the author “Jilly Bowl” described the fund as “a charity that has moved millions of dollars to hurting families.” (Bowl, Jilly. Dropkick Murphys: The Rat, The Road, and the Red Sox: An Unauthorized History).

It’s time to break another curse: The Curse of Voldemort the Con Man. Let’s do it!

*****

One last thing before we begin: For the People was selected specifically to assess the status of American society as the country heads into the midterms, but not all the songs on the album support that theme. Ergo, the review is divided into two parts: the socio-political songs and the apolitical original compositions that moved me the most. I also chose to break another one of my rules by including two bonus tracks in the socio-political section. The dire state of my country of birth demands that I use every available weapon in my armory.

All tracks are written by Dropkick Murphys

Part 1: The Battle to Restore the American Dream

“Who’ll Stand with Us?“: The band shows that they’re not afraid of tackling the big issues in our time with a blistering punk-charged attack on the greatest danger of them all: wealth inequality. According to Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser of The Wealth Inequality Initiative, “Wealth inequality is not just an economic issue – it underpins many of today’s global challenges, from social unrest and conflict to climate change, and the erosion of democratic trust.” The factual details are sickening.

• As of January 1, 2026, the collective net worth of America’s top 12 billionaires now surpasses $2.7 trillion. Their combined wealth has more than quadrupled, up from $608 billion on March 18, 2020, according to Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Forbes Real Time Billionaire Data. Even during the most intense period of the pandemic, as ordinary people around the world suffered from COVID-related health and economic crises, billionaires saw their fortunes expand.
• America’s billionaires have increasingly used their exploding wealth to influence U.S. elections. According to Americans for Tax Fairness analysis, 100 billionaire families spent a staggering $2.6 billion, or 16.5 percent of total political contributions in 2024.
• Over the past three decades, America’s most affluent families have added to their net worth, while those on the bottom have dipped into “negative wealth,” meaning the value of their debts exceeds the value of their assets, according to National Bureau of Economic Research data.
• America’s top 1 percent, for instance, holds more than half the national wealth invested in stocks and mutual funds. Most of the wealth of Americans in the bottom 90 percent comes from their homes — the asset category that took the biggest hit during the Great Recession. Those Americans also hold around three-quarters of America’s debt.
• Over the next decade, the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) will cut taxes for the richest 10 percent of Americans by more than $14,700 per year per household and cut taxes for the richest 1 percent of Americans by more than $50,000 per year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).

Much to their credit (and my surprise), not a single Democrat voted for Voldemort’s big ugly bill, and they’d be stupid not to shove that catastrophic piece of legislation up every Republican’s ass.

The music and lyrics are far more compelling than the facts, as the Murphys deliver a no-holds-barred performance featuring passion-filled vocals from Ken Casey and the chorus, tight performances by the band, and a touch of mourning from Campbell Webster on the pipes.

The opening verse points out that income inequality has been baked into the world’s economic pie for quite some time.

Throughout centuries in every country
We’ve faced the wrath and felt the pain
Of the tyrant’s sword or the henchman’s boot
For another rich man’s gain
In the endless quest for wealth and power
They stomp us down with great disdain
Beneath the false god’s banner
In the name of all that’s vain

The unison chorus is quite thrilling, and it’s always nice to hear a slice of truth in our post-factual world.

Through crime and crusade
Our labor, it’s been stolen
We’ve been robbed of our freedom
We’ve been held down and beholden
To the bosses and bankers
Who never gave their share
Of any blood
Of any sweat
Of any tears

Who’ll stand with us?
Don’t tell us everything is fine
Who’ll stand with us?
Because this treatment is a crime
The working people fuel the engine
While you yank the chain
We fight the wars and build the buildings
For someone else’s gain
So tell me
Who will stand with us?

The line “Don’t tell us everything is fine” turned out to be prescient, as Moron-in-Waiting J.D. Vance told Fox News that “This is not the time to sort of gripe about all the little things” like gas prices, debt, ICE killings, and war. Like his Daddy Voldemort, he blamed everything on Biden:  “The challenge here is between Democrats who want to destroy the country, who want to permanently disempower you . . . and Republicans who fundamentally are trying to solve the problems that Democrats under Joe Biden created.”

Hey, J.D.! You’ve already done a helluva job of destroying this country and disempowering the people by catering to the billionaires and your favorite trillionaire!  Go fuck yourself!

The final verse pretty much sums up what the GOP has accomplished with their divisive rhetoric and cruelty-drenched policies.

And as time rolls on
Not a single thing has changed
And the wealth gap’s only grown
As we all point the blame
We’re at the throats of one another
Though we share a single fate
And the golden few laugh on and on
As we all take the bait

I only hope that millions of who’s will stand with the Dropkick Murphys this November.

The video is equally powerful and occasionally disturbing, but it accurately presents the difficulty of life under an administration noted for its indifference to human suffering,

“Longshot”: I’m sure there are people out there who might believe mixing traditional Irish music with hard driving metallic punk is the equivalent of a peanut butter and mustard sandwich, but in the hands of Dropkick Murphys, it’s a perfect marriage, and “Longshot” serves as Exhibit A. The hard stuff emphasizes a key component of the Irish spirit: the need to fight oppression and prejudice. You can thank eight hundred years of British occupation for that orientation, and the Irish who emigrated to the United States—especially the Irish Catholics—had to deal with the “No Irish need apply” bullshit and the emergence of the anti-immigrant “Know Nothings” who formed the American Party just before the Civil War. (Early MAGA!) The Irish-Americans of the 19th and early 20th century earned a reputation as fighters, and three years after Notre Dame students confronted the Ku Klux Klan during a rally in South Bend in 1924, the college legitimized that spirit and renamed the teams “The Fighting Irish.” Shit, even JFK had to fight to convince people he wasn’t going to take orders from the Pope.

So don’t let yourself be lured into thinking that the opening phrase consisting of banjo (played by Jeff DaRosa) and tin whistle (courtesy of Tim Brennan) is a sign that boys are going to tone it down. The first hint that something’s up arrives when Ken sings the first verse backed by accordion and pounding drums, followed by a hearty chorus.

Did your number come in on a longshot?
Did you bet big and sweep the pot?
Did you walk away with the glory?
Did you stand up and take your shot?

[Refrain]
Have you seen, have you seen
Have you seen the man give of his time?
Have you seen, have you seen
Have you seen the man work for a dime?

On the word “dime,” guitars and drums enter with maximum intensity with a repeated rat-a-tat sound that feels like the mob is taking out a traitor with dozens of machine guns. In the context of the song, however, the sound serves to blast away the silly notion that working stiffs are somehow destined to win the lottery or pad their modest earnings with unbeatable poker hands and other forms of gambling.

It would seem that Americans took the line “When you ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose” from Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and converted it into gospel. “Gambling addiction is spiraling ‘out of control’ in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry. The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, ‘demands a public health response,’ according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene. (The Guardian) 

One might assume that the decision to meet in Boston had something to do with Harvard, but I’m going to pretend that Harry is a Dropkick Murphys fan who was spurred into action by the lyrics to “Longshot.”

Have you ever dreamed so big it seems
There’s no chance the dream will come true?
About a wish beyond your grasp
You’re all but guaranteed to lose
But sometimes fate’s a funny gal
So keep your eyes peeled for the signs
Keep the faith and keep on dreaming
‘Cause thеre might just be a time

‘Cause people like you and I
We’re never meant to achieve our dreams
We’re conditioned to settle for something
Something much less than it seems
So be careful what you wish for
‘Cause some dreams aren’t meant to come true
Or the dreams you thought you wanted and needed
Are custom fit for a fool

They said it was all just a pipe dream
“You’ll never make nothing out of yourself”
Been that same look on all of your faces
As you laugh me out of the room (Haha)
Is changing the hand that you’re dealt
Even something any of us can achieve?
When you sit back and rest on your laurels
You steal the chances, you gotta believe

You’ll hear the Irish instruments throughout the song, imbuing the relentless guitar-and-drum attack with plenty of fighting Irish spirit. The closing, slightly modified chorus is exceptionally compelling and deserving of repetition, with the Dublin band The Scratch joining the singers and strengthening the chorus a hundredfold.

Did your number come in on a longshot?
Did you bet big and sweep the pot?
Did you walk away with the glory?
Did you stand up and take your shot?
Did karma do you justice when you’re down and out and lost?
Did the shamrock on your shoulder bring good fortune and pay off?

The answer to the last question is “No.” The American Dream of middle-class prosperity that peaked in the mid-20th Century is a distant memory, and boom times in our era have always been followed by economic collapse. I can fully understand the desperation that leads people to take a shot at the wheel of fortune and how hard it is for parents trying to secure their children’s future when college tuition will likely wipe out any hard-earned savings. A friendly bet now and then is okay, but no matter what mode of gambling you’re into, the house always has the advantage. The only way forward is to get rid of the current regime and hope like hell that someone with the communication skills and empathy for those down on their luck will end the madness of the wealth gap and work to restore the “we’re all in this together” feeling of the American Dream.

Hmm. I’m not impressed by the field of Democrats currently identified as presidential contenders . . . Is there any way to resurrect FDR without using AI?

“Chesterfields and Aftershave”: You might think that this song about Ken Casey’s relationship with his grandfather doesn’t belong in the socio-political section, but the emergence of Voldemort split many families and ruined Thanksgivings and Christmas get-togethers. A friend of mine in Seattle broke off all communication with his sisters in 2016 when he found out they were part of the MAGA crowd and blocks every attempt they make to get in touch with him. In an interview with Hot Press after the release of This Machine Still Kills Fascists, Ken nailed one of Voldemort’s go-to strategies: “He set a model that others will now follow. It’s authoritarianism and fascism 101; the press is the enemy of the people, turn people against each other.” It’s a tragedy that the divisiveness seeped into the family, and the GOP will never be able to claim they are the party of family values again.

“Bury the Bones”: At the Springsteen-Morello “Power to the People” concert held just last week in Columbia, MD,  Ken wowed the crowd with this introduction to “Bury the Bones”: “This is a little number about fuckin’ ripping that piece of shit from the pedestal he thinks he sits on.”

I think Ken just blew his opportunity to visit the White House. I’m sure he’ll get over it.

This poetically economical anthem is a rousing call to protest clearly directed at the root cause of lingering American misery: the aforementioned piece of shit I call Voldemort. Loaded with Irish instrumentation, a power-packed rhythm, and choral vocals enhanced by the presence of the Hendy brothers of Ireland’s The Mary Wallopers, the song will satisfy your hunger for bullshit-free speech and steel your determination to win the midterms regardless of what shenanigans the piece of shit tries to pull.

It’s time, day and night, it’s time to be true to a cause
It’s time to do what’s right and rip the power back from their claws
What happens, the weak and the weary, they stand with the marginalized
The strong must help those in need when the crooks just bully and lie

Hey, look on the bright side, you can’t get blood from a stone
And we’re on the right side of the ground where they bury the bones
The ground where they bury the bones

Now it’s time for the indictment, and I hope with all my might that the last line becomes a reality very, very soon.

You took us all to the cleaners, gave your cronies the keys to the vault
No remorse and no regret because nothing is ever your fault
You spread your hate to divide us ‘cause you are the scared and alone
But soon, you’ll fall in disgrace when you’re dragged down on high from your throne

The idiom “you can’t get blood from a stone” works both ways. In the present, it represents the GOP’s indifference to the needs of the lower classes, but Americans can turn the tables by refusing to give them the support and votes they need to stay in power.

Hey, look on the bright side, you can’t get blood from a stone
And we’re on the right side of the ground where they bury the bones
The ground where they bury the bones

Resist (resist) and never comply, protest and organize
The people must have the power if the world is meant to survive

And look on the bright side, they can’t get blood from a stone
And we’re on the right side of the ground where they bury the bones
Hey, look on the bright side, they can’t get blood from a stone
And we’re on the right side of the ground where they bury the bones
The ground where they bury the bones

Now get out there and bury these fuckers with a big blue-and-independent wave!

“Fiending for the Lies”: From the Brooks Healing Center: “The term “feening” (also “fiending” or “fiening”) shows up frequently in music, social media, and everyday slang. It’s often used casually to describe wanting something badly.” Congratulations to Ken for discovering je mot juste! The MAGA movement loves it when Voldemort lies, which is pretty much all he does. They cheer when he calls global warming a hoax because that means they can keep their polluting automobiles. They love it when he goes after scientists and medical professionals because they’re too stupid to understand scientific jargon and have no desire to learn. Last week he called South Carolina’s Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Annie Andrews a “tranny” five times in his speech, even though she is a mother of three children. The dummies ate it up because they don’t trust doctors and hate trans people with a passion, and Andrews slipped three points in the polls to the dumb ass sister of Voldemort ass-kisser Lindsey Graham, who admitted that she knew nothing about foreign policy while running for a seat in the body tasked with approving treaties. Qualifications don’t matter to Voldemort; the only thing he cares about is absolute loyalty.

Set to a key of E minor with supporting power chords, anger-filled vocals, and a speed of 156 bpm, “Fiending for Lies” is one of the fiercest songs on the album, as it should be. Voldemort and the GOP count on the stupidity of their followers to swallow those lies in an effort to Make America Dumb Again. They continue to attack universities and are in the process of dismantling the Department of Education. I’ll stop right here and let the Dropkick Murphys provide the truth . . . about lies.

Absolutes are obsolete
The onslaught will defeat our
Clarity and sanity, knowledge is a casualty

Outrage, soundbites
You don’t work, you pick fights
Your principles change overnight
You gave more power to the powerful
And now we’re living in a living hell
And not a single soul is satisfied with their life
Come on, give me, give me, give me some more
‘Cause everybody’s fiending for the lies, lies, lies

Lies, lies, lies
Lies, lies, lies
Everybody fiending for the lies, lies, lies
Lies, lies, lies

The kids are running, help ain’t coming
The guns are firing, the bombs are falling

Don’t be fooled by the distraction, it’s all been manufactured
Fact is fiction, we’re all so full of wisdom
We’re drowning in a wave of misinformation
Designed to divide, man, we gotta pay attention

Hard times, headlines
Send in the storms, what happened to the norms?
They got blinders on our eyes, they’re distorting our minds
No one seems to recognize we’re living in a world of lies, lies, lies

The United States has moved from a president who promised “I will never lie to you” to one who always lies to you.

“Take Your Bow” (Bonus Track): The Murphys expand their reach to include the whole world, and you shouldn’t be surprised that things aren’t that much better anywhere thanks to Voldemort sending envoys to support right-wing politicians in Europe and South America, and Putin’s determination to expand Russia’s borders, whatever the cost. The band has played all over the world, and as keen observers of the human condition, you can trust their assessment.

Set against an arrangement of nasty guitars, bagpipes and thunderous drums, the song describes a world on the edge of disaster due to the right-wing power shift and the deadly mix of religion and politics used by the right to instill fear into the population. I’ve tried to warn my audience of the coming disaster, but hardly anyone is going to take a music blogger seriously when it comes to the state of the world,  so once again, I’ll turn things over to the Dropkick Murphys.

Welcome to the darkness, the kingdom of rage
The land of dysfunction and the end of days
You’ll find no peace here, fear and hate thrive
The worst of humanity is all that survives

It’s quiet and still, nothing left to defend
They said this is how mankind would end
We’re all bound together here, shackled as one
As the age of oblivion, the reckoning’s begun

War, famine, injustice, poverty, death and disease
The evil have weakened and conquered us all
It’s brought us all to our knees
The best and the brightest have left us
In the darkness they all took their bow
The demons disguised as the righteous
And the holy have broken the vow

The blind lead the blind, they divide us all
Brother versus brother, friendships will fall
The louder you shout, the more souls you’ll save
We’re all the pawns, it’s the end of days

And the news just keeps getting worse. It’s likely that the right will take over Brazil and France, and Germany is up for grabs. Americans have an opportunity to stem that tide by taking both the House and Senate and exposing Voldemort as a failed has-been, thereby limiting his influence.

“Sirens” (Bonus Track): We’ll close this part of the review with another fiery attack on the rich oppressors who screw the lower classes.

The song kicks ass from the get-go, with a guitar riff that mimics the sound of a siren and knockout performances from Kevin Rheault on bass and Matt Kelly on drums. You can’t do punk without a tight rhythm section, and these guys are fucking fantastic.

The song also reminds Americans that the takeover by the rich began years ago with the Koch brothers funneling millions into the coffers of like-minded candidates to take over the statehouses and enact rich-friendly policies. Obama was okay as a president, but when it came to politics, he was asleep at the wheel.

Our life and times have been maligned
Workin’ three jobs at a time
When you’re uninsured and you can’t save
How can you provide without a living wage?

If you wanna screw me look me in the eye
When you turn a solemn promise to a blatant lie
One thing I’ll never comprehend
Is how they turn us on our sisters, brothers, children
Neighbors, strangers, and friends

The billionaire profits
While the worker bleeds
1% of the wealth
Hoards from millions in need
We’re fighting for thе scraps
We struggle and suffer
Wе’re falling for the trap
We’re turning on each other
We’re turning on each other
We’re turning on each other

It takes money to make it, you did shit on your own
You were born into this, you were handed the throne
Generational wealth, a great gig if you got it
Keep us all down for a little more profit

Once hope is gone the will disappears
It’s the master plan, they’ve been at it for years
It’s the final stage, this is how it ends
When they turn us on our sisters, brothers, children
Neighbors, strangers, and friend

One thing I’ll never comprehend
We’re turning on each other . . .