In basic training, we counted down to the last day as "xx days and a wake up". The wake up being the day you got outta bed and went the hell away from basic training.

As far as I know, this was stolen from the soldiers in Vietnam counting down the time they'd get to go back stateside.

We did it so we could make ourselves think we were tough, being that B.T. pretty much scared the fuck out of a lot of us.

In reference to Rage Against the Machine's version of this song...

At about 4:28 in the song, a voice in the background begins to read some cryptic, official-sounding phrases. These are quoted from a COINTELPRO (the FBI's Counterintelligence Program) document made public under the Freedom of Information Act. It is difficult to make out what he is saying, so here it is:

"Prevent the rise of a messiah who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement. Malcolm X might have been such a 'messiah;' he is the martyr of the movement today. Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, and Elijah Muhammed all aspire to this position... King could be a real contender for this position should he abandon his supposed 'obedience' to 'white liberal doctrines' of nonviolence and embrace black nationalism..." "Prevent violence on the part of the black nationalist groups. This is primary importance, and is, of course, a goal of the Counterintelligence Program. Through counterintelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them before they exercise their potential for violence..."

A slightly modified version of this song plays during the final seconds and ending credits of the movie The Matrix.

Sources: http://www.accidentprone.com/ragefaq/

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