“They Don't Care About Us”
Single by Michael Jackson from the album HIStory
Released	April 1996 June 1996
Format	CD single
Recorded	1995
Genre	Pop-Rock
Length	4:44
Label	Epic Records
Writer(s)	Michael Jackson
Producer	Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Earth Song" (1995) "They Don't Care About Us" (1996) "Stranger in Moscow" (1996)
Michael Jackson's Visionary chronology
"Earth Song" (2006)	"They Don't Care About Us" (2006)	"Stranger in Moscow" (2006)
HIStory track listing
"Scream" (1) "They Don't Care About Us" (2) "Stranger in Moscow" (3)

"They Don't Care About Us" was the third U.S. single and fourth European single released from American rock and R&B singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's 1995 album, HIStory. It debuted and peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 8, 1996. Image File history File links Mjtdcau. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... For other uses, see June (disambiguation). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. ... See also: 1995 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1995 Record labels established in 1995 // January 18 - Jerry Garcia wrecks his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Pop rock (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology You Are Not Alone (2006) Earth Song (2006) They Dont Care About Us (2006) HIStory track listing This Time Around (4) Earth Song (5) D.S. (6) Earth Song is a song by Michael Jackson featured on Jacksons 1995 HIStory album. ... Stranger in Moscow is a single by singer/songwriter Michael Jackson released in November 1996. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology You Are Not Alone (2006) Earth Song (2006) They Dont Care About Us (2006) HIStory track listing This Time Around (4) Earth Song (5) D.S. (6) Earth Song is a song by Michael Jackson featured on Jacksons 1995 HIStory album. ... Stranger in Moscow is a single by singer/songwriter Michael Jackson released in November 1996. ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... Janet Jackson singles chronology Whoops Now/Whatll I Do (1995) Scream/Childhood (1995) Runaway (1995) HIStory track listing Scream (1) They Dont Care About Us (2) HIStory track listing You Are Not Alone (8) Childhood (9) Tabloid Junkie (10) Scream/Childhood was a 1995 hit single for singer... Stranger in Moscow is a single by singer/songwriter Michael Jackson released in November 1996. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... R&B redirects here. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... See also: 1995 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1995 Record labels established in 1995 // January 18 - Jerry Garcia wrecks his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California. ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... “Hot 100” redirects here. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Controversies

Both the lyrics^[1] and the music video generated controversy for Jackson. Look up lyrics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... For the Wikipedia policy regarding controversial issues in articles, see Wikipedia:Guidelines for controversial articles. ...

Lyrics

The original version of the song brought accusations of Jackson being anti-Semitic because of the following lyrics:^[2] Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism, also known as judeophobia) is prejudice and hostility toward Jews as a religious, racial, or ethnic group. ...

Jew me, sue me, everybody do me

Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me.

He responded to these allegations by insisting that he did not mean to offend any member of the Jewish community and that some of his best friends were Jewish and that racism was never in his heart. He also explained in his letter to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that the song was meant to demonstrate the hatefulness of racism, anti-Semitism and stereotyping. He said: "My intention was for this song to say 'no' to racism, anti-Semitism and stereotyping. I intend to include, in all albums that have not been shipped as of this date, the above paragraph so that no one can listen to my music and misconstrue my intentions. Just the idea that my lyrics could offend and hurt anyone's feelings is extremely painful to me." For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial quota... The Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) is an advocacy group founded by Bnai Brith in the United States whose stated aim is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. ... For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ...

The live version from the History Tour eliminates the whole second verse because of the controversy.

Still under pressure, Jackson removed HIStory from the market, altered the controversial words^[3], and re-released it at his own expense.

Music video versions

The original music video for the song showed Jackson singing the song in a prison.^[4] MTV took the video off its playlist because it showed scenes of violence.^[4] Jackson and video director Spike Lee did another version of the video set in Brazil.^[4] This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ... For other uses, see Violence (disambiguation). ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an Emmy Award - winning, and Academy Award - nominated American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ...

Other sources claim that "The original music video, which was shot in March, on the streets of Salvador in Brazil was reportedly not 'entirely satisfactory' to Michael's liking, so a second music video, the 'Prison version', was made a week later. However ironically this new music video was banned in some countries due to complaints that it was too violent, and on both MTV and VH1 it was only allowed to be shown after the 9 o'clock watershed."^[4]

However in recent years another version of the music video has appeared, which seems to be an unreleased cut of the Prison Version. This version contains even more violent footage than the released video, which includes scenes of the Holocaust, dead bodies, gunshot scenes and a kid throwing around a foot detached from a body. But however more brutal, this cut still censors the lyrics mentioned above. The prisoners in the video seems to be singing along with the song in all choruses, where as in the released version, they only sing in one single chorus. It is unknown from where this cut originates, but it would appear to be an early cut, discharged almost immediately for its violent content.

The "Brazil version" of the "They Don't Care About Us" music video, featuring the Brazilian cultural group Olodum playing drums, can be found on the DVD HIStory on Film, Volume II, as well as on the DVD side of the Visionary single, which was released in 2006. This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ... For other uses, see Drum (disambiguation). ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... HIStory on Film, Volume II is a collection of videos released by Michael Jackson in 1997. ... See also: 2006 in British music Musical groups established in 2006 Record labels established in 2006 // January – James Nicholl, drummer of Pay*Ola became ill and was admitted to hospital. ...

Track listing

Original release

UK single #1

1. "They Don't Care About Us" (LP edit) – 4:10
2. "They Don't Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Walk in the Park Mix) – 7:18
3. "They Don't Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Classic Paradise Mix) – 7:55
4. "They Don't Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Anthem of Love Mix) – 7:46
5. "They Don't Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Hacienda Mix) – 7:10
6. "They Don't Care About Us" (Dallas Austin Main Mix) – 5:20

UK single #2

1. "They Don't Care About Us" (Single edit) – 4:43
2. "They Don't Care About Us" (Track Master's Remix) – 4:07
3. "They Don't Care About Us" (Charles' Full Joint Remix) – 4:56
4. "Beat It" (Moby's Sub Mix) – 6:11

U.S. single #1

1. "They Don't Care About Us" (Single version) – 4:43
2. "Rock with You" (Frankie's Favorite Club Mix Radio Edit) – 3:47
3. "Earth Song" (Hani's Radio Experience) – 3:33
4. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Brothers in Rhythm House Mix) – 7:40

Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (2006) Rock With You (2006) Billie Jean (2006) Off the Wall track listing Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (1) Rock with You (2) Working Day and Night (3) HIStory track listing Black or White (3) Rock... Thriller track listing Wanna Be Startin Somethin (1) Baby Be Mine (2) HIStory track listing Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (13) Wanna Be Startin Somethin (14) Heal the World (15) Wanna Be Startin Somethin is a 1983 single released from Michael Jacksons multi-platinum selling 1982 album...

U.S. single #2

1. "They Don't Really Care About Us" (Unedited album version) – 4:43
2. "They Don't Really Care About Us" (Charles' Full Joint Remix) – 4:56
3. "They Don't Really Care About Us" (Dallas Main Mix) – 5:06
4. "They Don't Really Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Walk in the Park Mix) – 7:18
5. "They Don't Really Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Classic Paradise Mix) – 7:55
6. "They Don't Really Care About Us" (Track Master's Radio Edit) – 3:58
7. "Rock with You" (Frankie's Favourite Club Mix) – 3:47
8. "Earth Song" (Hani's Club Experience) – 7:55

Visionary single

CD side

1. "They Don't Care About Us" (LP edit)
2. "They Don't Care About Us" (Love to Infinity's Walk in the Park Mix)

DVD side

1. "They Don't Care About Us" (Brazil music video)

Mixes

1. Album version (explicit lyrics) – 4:44
2. Album version (clean lyrics) – 4:44
3. Single version – 4:44
4. Radio edit/LP edit – 4:10
5. Track Masters Remix
6. Track Masters Radio Edit
7. Track Masters Instrumental
8. Charles' Full Joint Remix
9. Charles' Full Joint Mix - No Intro
10. Charles' Full Dirty Mix
11. Dallas Austin Main Mix
12. Love to Infinity's Walk in the Park Mix
13. Love to Infinity's Walk in the Park Radio Mix
14. Love to Infinity's Anthem of Love Mix
15. Love to Infinity's Anthem of Love Radio Mix
16. Love to Infinity's Anthem of Love Dub
17. Love to Infinity's Classic Paradise Mix
18. Love to Infinity's Classic Paradise Radio Mix
19. Love to Infinity's Classic Paradise Dub
20. Love to Infinity's Hacienda Mix
21. A cappella – 2:10

Charts

The Billboard Hot 100 is the main singles chart used by Billboard magazine. ... Billboards Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart is a weekly national survey of what songs are most popular in U.S. dance clubs. ... The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, formerly known as Top Soul Singles, Top Black Singles, and Top R&B Singles (before the hip-hop term was added in the late 1990s), is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. ...

Credits

• Written and composed by Michael Jackson
• Produced by Michael Jackson

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) is an advocacy group founded by Bnai Brith in the United States whose stated aim is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• "They Don't Care About Us" (Brazil version) music video on YouTube