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Protest Song Of The Week: ‘End Of My Bloodline (Remix)’

“It’s the end of my bloodline. It’s mine, and you’re greedy. It’s mine.”

“End of My Bloodline” by Screaming Females revolves around this central refrain, a meditation on bodies, agency and reproductive justice. The track comes from the prolific Jersey punk rock trio’s most recent album, “All At Once,” released in February on Don Giovanni Records.

Playing together since 2005, Screaming Females have released seven albums over 13 years.

The very existence of this band has always felt like an act of protest, channeling their politics in ways that are both abstract and assertive, subtle and strong, through their music, artwork and independent way of operating.

“All At Once” finds guitarist and vocalist Marissa Paternoster, bassist Mike Abbate, and drummer Jarrett Dougherty writing some of their most interesting songs to date.

“End Of My Bloodline” explores a slower and more contemplative tempo than Screaming Females usually work with.

“A sin to some, accident’s dying, the desperate need to have it all…Body snatchers, death for dining, a floating house, mouth full of bones,” Paternoster sings.

That searing line is missing from a remix of the song, featuring verses from their Don Giovanni label-mates Sammus and Moor Mother, but its ideas are re-worked in new ways.

On the remix, Sammus sings about having her “body divided” at the whim of men who “give us a lot of hell for surviving.”

“I know you rather you kill us than have us loving our bodies,” Sammus raps. “You like my body so much just take my bottom and kiss it. I pay the rent here so listen. No gentrifying my body. IT’S MINE.”

Later, Moor Mother’s verse rails into “a truth that lacks meaning” and the ways that individual choices are determined via gender binaries.

“W-T-F is gender but a pretender of actual events,” questions Moor Mother, later commanding “queer the place, invent a design outside the lines of patriarchy.”

It’s an epic testament to the power of collaboration.

Listen to “End Of My Bloodline (Remix)” by Screaming Females featuring Sammus and Moor Mother.

Liz Pelly

Liz Pelly