In memory of Amir Locke, and in solidarity with the struggle for justice after his murder. 

I wrote this song the night the video of Amir Locke's murder by the MPD came out. I struggled for several days to fit it to music- the initial melody I wrote it for did not sound right, emotionally, when I played it. The question of how a white artist approaches the subject of a black person's murder by the police or by racist vigilantes is difficult. We must present an unflinching and honest portrayal of the violence behind white supremacy and policing to a society that loves to make excuses for that violence, to avert its gaze from the brutal cost of enforcing white supremacy. At the same time, we must respect the dignity and personhood of the victim of the murder, and not treat their death in a voyeuristic way- black pain and death must not be commodified for anyone's consumption. We must also be aware that black artists are working to reflect on these same injustices, and be ready to make way for and help platform black voices. We must be conscious, also, of the trauma that the subject matter of these songs brings to the surface. 

All of these make the subject of police murders of Black people very difficult for white artists to make music about. Yet, through the decades, attempts have been made- Bob Dylan's "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" and "The Death of Emmet Till", Sinead O Connor's "Black Boys on Mopeds", Abel Meropol's "Strange Fruit" stand as examples. Previously, I wrote "Trouble the Water", about the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Minneapolis uprising, in collaboration with and for the voice of my bandmate, Jessica Garraway. 

I do not know if this song will sit right in the aftermath of Amir's murder. As a survivor of police brutality and as someone who has struggled and faced arrest by the MPD in fights against their racist violence, I have written it in a spirit of solidarity. I am open to criticism, to change, or to withdrawing it if it does not fulfill its purpose. 

I hope it works as a means to confront the listener with the reality of the violence and horror that a no-knock raid inflicts on its victims, and the impossible split-second choice Amir was forced to make when confronted with multiple armed intruders. Still being woken up from bed, Locke had a firearm in his hand, and did not point it at the police or put his finger on the trigger. A responsible gun owner, Amir Locke did not ready himself to fire his gun, as he was not able to positively identify the threat to him and what lay beyond it. In those few moments of terror, the police who had entered his home and kicked the couch he was sleeping on to wake him, shot him dead. He had no time to comply. Amir Locke was murdered.

“No Knock”, or the Murder of Amir Locke
Am C
No knock, just the shots, and the door was locked, 
G Am 
but the men were through the door 
Am C
The lights cut bright glaring in the night 
G Am 
And the boots pound over the floor 
F C G Am
No time to ask, no time to think or fight or run 
F C G Am
The boot kicked him awake and then the man fired the gun 
C G Am 
Nine seconds, since they came through the door

No knock, and the slide of a glock that shudders and rocks 
And it spits out the round 
It breaks through a body that shakes as he stutters awake,
Ears split by the sound
Wrapped in a blanket, like a burial shroud 
A pack of killers, did they make the city proud
In those nine seconds since they came through the door? 

No knock, just the shots, and the cops 
killed Amir Locke, still in his bed 
Another raid, one more early grave, 
Another poor kid dead
A warrant for a murder, that was their excuse this time 
He wasn’t on the warrant, he’s the victim of the crime
Just nine seconds since they came through the door

No Knock (Nine Seconds)

Folk musician, carpenter, and anarchist. Former member of the Wooden Shoe Ramblers. 
Website: https://edoylemusic.weebly.com/
Bandcamp: https://emmettdoyle.bandcamp.com/album/rust-belt-ballads
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/emmettdoyle
WSR: https://woodenshoeramblers.bandcamp.com/releases

No Knock (Nine Seconds)

Emmett Doyle