Says Bates Belk, “It wasn’t until I left the USA and relocated to Europe that I finally became aware of how horrible and unacceptable the oppressive gun problem is in the USA. It's filled with hate, racism, discrimination and endless violence meant to control. As an American citizen, I was always taught that the USA was the ‘land of the free’. I was lied to along with everyone else. The USA has supposedly over 393 million guns…the most of any country in the world…and year after year thousands of citizens and visitors continue to be murdered by guns at both the hands of the police and its citizens. It's a disease. No human being can truly be free in a gun culture. And as a gay man, I find solace and freedom on dance floors of gay clubs. So, to see my LGBTQI+ community be horrendously targeted with hate and guns at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA on June 12, 2016 where club-goers just wanted to dance to music on the dance floor, to be free, to resist oppression and to have fun, that really hit home for me.”

Lyrics:

We’ve been warned
History
Has demonstrated our need to be free
Enemies of yesterday
We’re ready come what may
Dancing with bullets
Evasion to the fullest
Act now
No time to waste
Far too short to not have the taste
We need to survive
Can we say what it’s like to feel alive?
We should all feel alive…
The end Is a mystery
We chase our destiny
Who knows the real outcome
As we now dance in this dark spektrum
Dancing with bullets
Evasion to the fullest

Credits:
"Dancing with Bullets (featuring Coco SaFir)"
--Written and Produced by Bates Belk in Berlin
--Music Co-produced with Damian Press at Neon Nursery Studios Berlin
--Lead Vocals by Coco SaFir in Berlin
--Music Mixed by Gareth Jones at Strongroom Studios London
--Music Mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios London
--Music Mixing Assistance by David Jones
--Video directed by Bates Belk and animated by Roland Lauth

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Dancing with Bullets