"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a satirical poem andBlack Liberation song byGil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 albumSmall Talk at 125th and Lenox, on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied bycongas andbongo drums. A re-recorded version, with a three-piece band, was theB-side to Scott-Heron's first single, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is", from his albumPieces of a Man (1971). This recording was still sparsely instrumented, but now, in addition to drums, featured a driving bassline played byRon Carter and, somewhat unconventionally, ajazz-infused flute line byHubert Laws throughout, acting as a countermelody to Heron's passionately delivered spoken word vocal. This sparse and rhythm-driven backdrop to Heron's incisive vocal, held down byBernard Purdie's tight and explosivefunk drumming, and eschewing thick chordal accompaniment, foreshadowed musical developments inhip-hop in the decade to come.
The song's lyrics either mention or allude to several television series, advertising slogans and icons of entertainment and news coverage that serve as examples of what "the revolution will not" be or do. The song is a response to thespoken-word piece "When the Revolution Comes" byThe Last Poets, from theireponymous debut album, which opens with the line "When the revolution comes some of us will probably catch it on TV".[2]
In 2021, it was ranked at No. 258 onRolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[4] In 2025, the publication ranked the song at number 14 on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time."[5]
GeneralCreighton Abrams, one of the commanders of military operations in Southeast Asia during theVietnam War
Mendel Rivers, chairman of theHouse Armed Services Committee during the period of the Vietnam War (Rivers' name appears in the original 1970 recording, but not in the re-recorded 1971 version, being replaced by Spiro Agnew)
Spiro Agnew, 39th vice president of the United States under Nixon
"NBC will not be able to predict the winner at 8:32", a reference to television networks predicting the winner of presidential elections shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m.
"Dove in your bedroom", an advertising image associated withDove anti-perspirantdeodorant
"Put a tiger in your tank", anEsso (nowExxon) advertising slogan created by Chicago copywriter Emery Smith
"Giant in your toilet bowl," a reference toLiquid-Plumr commercials saying that it cleared so well it was like "having a giant in your toilet bowl" with an animation of a large arm using a plunger on your toilet.
During theSuper Bowl LIX Halftime Show inNew Orleans (at which 47th presidentDonald Trump was in attendance[13]), rapperKendrick Lamar made a reference to "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" during his performance, in which he said "The revolution ’bout to be televised / You picked the right time but the wrong guy,"[14] and then led into his song "Squabble Up". He also references it in his song "TV Off", with the line "This revolution been televised, I fell through with the knick-knacks".[15]
Scott-Heron's song is referenced numerous times throughout the 2025 filmOne Battle After Another, in which the lyrics are used as a code for former members of the group the French 75 and their associates to identify one another.[16]
