During her performance at this weekend’s Riot Fest Chicago, Patti Smith proved that even at 67 years of age, she still holds the fire power that first earned her the title of “Godmother of Punk.”
As Huffington Post notes, towards the end of “People Have The Power”, the last song of her set, Smith offered up an inspiring call to arms against corporations and the government.
“We do have the power!” she proclaimed. “Our governments, our corporations would like us to feel defeated, but we have it with our numbers if we use it. Don’t forget it!”
With fists in the air and her voice loud and determined, she continued: “People, the future is now! You are the future! You will decide what happens to our world, our environment, our children, the fish in the sea, the birds in our air. People, you can change the fucking world. Take heart, don’t give up! Globally unite for peace. It’s not fucking corny. It’s what we fucking need!”
Check out fan-footage of the awesome speech below (starts around 6:20).