Accompanied by a booming drum beat, vocalist Aidan Moffat mentions the Falkirk town of Grangemouth by name. Falkirk, the home of the duo, has been wrapped up in anti-immigrant protests throughout the past year, a fact that the two seem quite aware of.
Throughout the track's three-minute runtime, Moffat points out the often bizarre, conspiratorial beliefs held by the far-right with lines like “Aliens are eating swans / Most of science is a con / Medicine will kill you”. On the hook, he highlights how many of the most notable right-wing pundits are driven by monetary gain, manipulating the confused and vulnerable: “Paywall patriot keep raging / We’ve ran ragged by your lies / Sing your class war karaoke / Monetise, mythologise”. This is further emphasised later during the bridge, where Moffat contrasts the lavish and pampered lifestyles that these figures live while supposedly “fighting for” the working class.
The song maintains a sarcastic and lively energy throughout, with a mesh of distorted riffs, acoustic strumming and a steady march of a drum beat. You can feel Moffat and other half Malcolm Middleton’s distaste for the fear-mongering far-right across the entire track, and when it’s backed up with instrumentation this rowdy, it makes for an intense but endlessly enjoyable listening experience.
Ash Douglas
Image: ‘Fighting For You’ Official Single Cover
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