My Morning Jacket Releases Anti-Violence Song

On Thursday a sniper fatally shot five police officers and injured several other officers during a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in Dallas. The march was being held to protest the police shootings of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, who died earlier in the week. Sterling’s death in Baton Rouge, La., was captured on camera by multiple witnesses while the aftermath of Philando Castile’s fatal shooting in Falcon Heights, Minn., was livestreamed on Facebook by his girlfriend.

Shortly after Castile’s death, Beyoncé updated the splash page on her website with a statement condemning the shootings and urging fans to contact their government representatives to demand social and judicial changes.

The Game and Snoop Dogg took action by leading a march to Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on Friday and taking part in a private meeting with Los Angeles Major Eric Garcetti and Chief of Police Charlie Beck, followed by a press conference.  

The Game’s 13-year-old son, Harlem Taylor, is also doing his part to make a difference. The rapper started a gofundme account to raise money to continue the work of police officer Tommy Norman, who has attracted attention for building positive relationships with the residents of North Little Rock, Ark.

My Morning Jacket shared its new tune, “Magic Bullet,” on social media Sunday and noted that although a song can’t fix or change the world instantly, “if we say nothing, then nothing will ever change.”

Check out “Magic Bullet,” followed by MMJ’s statement in full:

here is a new song.

violence is never the answer.

only love.

we all need to be a part of the discussion.

part of the solution.

how long will it take before we realize-

we are all the same.

this is not idealistic dreaming.

this is a fact-

we all want only to love and be loved.

to nuture and protect those we love.

hate comes from the illusion that we are separate and cut off from

one another by factors like race and religion but this simply is not true.

it does not matter your race/creed/sexual orientation we are all filled with the same beautiful blood- a mix of old and new generations… past present and future…we are all in there somewhere…in the blood lines together…all of humanity.

a beautiful mix of male and female and all the colors rolled up into this wonderful gift we call life.

a gift that should be celebrated like the beautiful rainbow that it is- not riddled by bullets and cut to pieces spilling and wasting that precious blood.

I don’t pretend to think that a song can fix or change the world instantly, and I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of the political landscape and proper gun control legislation-

BUT if we say nothing then nothing will ever change.

and things have got to change.

so maybe if we all sing out-

if we all speak out- for peace. for equality. for justice. for an end to the violence…then perhaps we can together change the world for the better-

create a world of true peace, love, and acceptance where our differences are celebrated because we realize they are in fact all just shades of the same wondrous human rainbow.

dare to dream. dreams can come true.

no one said it better than Dr. King:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

here is a wish from us to you for peace,love, understanding, and an end to the violence.

we hope you enjoy this song that basically says

there can be a solution…

but none of us can do it alone.

we have to get together.

peace and love,

my morning jacket