Secret Treaties
1974 | Rock
“I choose to steal what you chose to show and you know I will not apologize. -- You're mine for the taking I'm making a career of evil."
Trivia
- Secret Treaties hit #53 on the Billboard 200.
- Career of Evil was the inspiration for the title of the 2015 novel of the same name written by J.K. Rowling under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
- The lyrics to Career of Evil were written by future punk poet Patti Smith, a longtime contributor to the band and then partner with bandmember Allen Lanier).
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
If the federal government were a person, this is the song it would sing. Wicked two-faced behavior, raping and pillaging (literally here). "I choose to steal what you choose to show; And you know I will not apologize; You're mine for the taking." Basically, what isn't kept secret from the state is subject to confiscation. This could describe the USSR, or any other grossly over-expanded government. And hey, the song is catchy as hell too.
Nicky P
Is it me or is this song laying out it's pitch for agorism? We all know that politics is the only truly evil career. It's enabling if theft and murder on a global scale. The line "I choose to steal what you choose to show" seems to be a warning: if you want to keep it, don't let them know it exists. I think it even warns that this isn't a static situation. The state believes what you have is it's and will actively work to seek you out. Agorism is the act of trying to perform as much market activity as you can outside of the eyes of the state. This song could use a subtitle: Free Markets Are Black Markets.