This song was inspired by the episode "Out of Gas" where Mal says, "No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get... we'll just get ourselves a little further." That was the comment of a solder who lost both a physical and spiritual war. He was ready to flee, escape, and hide like I suspect many Browncoats did after the Unification War. However, I felt like Mal regained his faith in people after they broadcast the news about Miranda in the movie Serenity. He had something to fight for again, as did many people in the Verse. What is there to fight for? Not governments and organizations, but for people, for individuals, for the arts. One of the first things to go in a profit-driven world is the arts. They are not easily commoditized because art is subjective. However, art is also the sign of a civilized society. It satisfies the emotional and spiritual needs of the community, helping the it to grow, learn, and thrive. That's something that is difficult to sell and dangerous to promote. The Long Arm is reaching for you Wants to wrest and take control It struck down your family Now it's aimin' for your soul It's grasp is filled with hate It's fingers are naught but fear White knuckled, it grips you Til your eyes fill with tears * We fight for freedom, freedom For poetry and song We fight for actors and authors, It's the artists who make us strong The Long Arm took our planet Down our throats, it done rammed The promise of unification But it left us all damned It laid waste to our landscape While its pockets grew fat Left us homeless and cold Now it's time we fight back We're done running from the Long Arm Browncoats rise again We'll weaken your grip And the stories that you spin Like you done with all of your lies That you packed in your fist But you ain't seen the truth yet Till you seen us resist