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The Clash - Inoculated City

The Clash - Inoculated City Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Combat Rock
Released: 1982

Inoculated City Lyrics

The soldier boy for his soldier's pay, obeys
The sergeant at arms, whatever he says
The sergeant will for his sergeant's pay, obey
The captains until his dying day
The captain will, for his captain's pay, obey
The general order of battle play
The generals bow to the government, obey the charge
You must not relent

What of the neighbours and the prophets in bars?
What are they saying in our public bazaars?
We are tired of the tune, "you must not relent"

At every stroke of the bell in the tower, there goes
Another boy from another side
The bulletins that steady come in say those
Familiar words at the top of the hour
The jamming city increases its hum, and those
Terrible words continue to come
Through brass music of government, hear those
Guns tattoo a roll on the drums

No one mentions the neighbouring war
No one knows what their fighting is for
We are tired of the tune, "you must not relent"

The generals bow to the government
We're tired of the tune, "you must not relent"

Writer/s: JOE STRUMMER, MICK JONES
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Inoculated City

Lyrically and musically this song is a follow-up to The Clash's 1981 single "The Call Up." It's a jaunty tune about the futility of war and war crimes and the actions of soldiers being defended by the age-old adage of "I was just following orders:

"The sergeant will for his sergeant's pay
Obey the general order of the battle play
The generals bow to the government
Obey the charge you must not relent"

A possible inspiration for these lyrics - written by Clash guitarist Mick Jones - is XTC's 1980 single "Generals and Majors."

Interestingly, the original version of the song had a sample from a US TV commercial about the toilet cleaner 2,000 Flushes. What point it served the song is uncertain (perhaps a comment on rampant commercialism), but it sounds pretty good at least. The company behind the product, Flushco Inc., threatened a million-dollar lawsuit and a temporary injunction against the manufacture of the Combat Rock LP, and the whole saga forced The Clash to go into hiding to avoid being served with a writ.

In the end the sample was withdrawn, and isn't present on the CD re-release. However, the original version of the song (with sample intact) is floating around on original pressings.

The song had already been chopped down by nearly two minutes from an early mix by Jones as part of the Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg early mix of the album. When this overlong mix was edited down by producer Glyn Jones, "Inoculated City" was one of many tracks to be cut down to decrease the run time.

This was featured on the B-side of the US release of the "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" single. It was played live by The Clash for a short time in 1981, during their Paris residency and on the following UK tour.

The Clash - Know Your Rights

The Clash - Know Your Rights Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Combat Rock
Released: 1982

Know Your Rights Lyrics

This is a public service announcement
With guitar
Know Your Rights
All three of them

Number one
You have the right not to be killed
Murder is a crime
Unless it was done
By a policeman
Or an aristocrat
Oh, know your rights

And number two
You have the right to food money
Providing of course
You don't mind a little
Investigation, humiliation
And if you cross your fingers
Rehabilitation

Know your rights
These are your rights
Hey, say, Wang

Oh, know these rights

Number three
You have the right to free speech
As long as
You're not dumb enough to actually try it

Know your rights
These are your rights
Oh, know your rights
These are your rights
All three of 'em
Ha!
It has been suggested in some quarters
That this is not enough
Well

Get off the streets
Run
Get off the streets

Writer/s: HEADON, TOPPER / JONES, MICK / SIMONON, PAUL / STRUMMER, JOE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Know Your Rights

The lyrics to "Know Your Rights" are a very sarcastic look at oppression of the poor and working classes via limiting their human rights. Joe Strummer likely wrote them as a sarcastic response to a series of public service announcements in poor areas reminding the civilians of their basic human rights - this would certainly explain the "This is a public service announcement... WITH GUITARS!" introductory line.

According to the lyrics, people only have three human rights:

1) The right not to be killed, unless it is done by a policeman or an aristocrat (perhaps referencing two recent incidents, the deaths of Sunderland boxer Liddle Towers (see also The Angelic Upstarts' "The Murder Of Liddle Towers") and New Zealand schoolteacher Blair Peach in incidents involving police brutality).

2) The right to food money - as long as you don't mind "a little investigation, humiliation, and if you cross your fingers, rehabilitation," a possible reference to the stricter tests and investigations one had to pass in order to receive welfare payments in the UK at the time.

3) The right to free speech - "as long as you're not actually dumb enough to try it!"

The song was written in August/September 1981 at the Ear Studios, and was an obvious choice for both opening song on the Combat Rock record and leadoff single from the album, peaking at #43 on the UK Charts with the B-side "First Night Back in London." It became a popular live song from 1982 to 1984 with it's heavy drums and Rockabilly guitar breaks. A representative version recorded in Boston in September 1982 features on the From Here to Eternity live compilation.

The song has been covered numerous times, most famously by Pearl Jam, who regularly perform a live cover, as well as by General Soup Kitchen, The Cowans, The Frisk and Primal Scream.

Funk by The Clash - Overpowered

Funk by The Clash - Overpowered Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Combat Rock
Released: 1982

Overpowered Lyrics

If you ain't reggae for it, funk out
No-one knocking at your door, funk out
Overpowered by funk, funk out
It's combatative, repetitive
Don't life just funk you out?
Asinine, stupefying
Can the clone-line dry you out?
Part of the swarming mass, funk out
Slugged by the new increase, funk out
Scared of the human bomb, funk out
Overpowered by funk, funk out
Buy dog food, rogue elephants
Tarzan on a ticker tape
Ooo-ooh
Breakfast cereals
You know you can't escape
Overpowered by funk
Don't you love our Western ways?
Car crashed by funk
Don't you love our Western ways?
Benny Goodman, trial by jury
A phone box-full of books
"It's morning, you know!"
Dustcarts at sunrise
No-one gets off the hooks
Car crashed

Food for the hungry millions, funk out!
Home for the floating people, funk out!
Over-drunk on power
This is a message from Futura, don't prophisize the future
I liven up the culture because I'm deadly as a vulture
I paint on civilization, I had this realization
It's environmentally wack, so presenting my attack
You know, I'll brighten up your shack
I'm down by law and that's a fact
Just give me a wall, any building, dull or tall
I spray clandestine night subway
I cover with red-purple on top of grey, hey
No slashing cause it ain't the way, the T.A. blew forty mil' they say
We threw it down by night and they scrubbed it off by day
OK tourists, picture frame, tickets here for the graffiti train
Funk power
Over-and-out
Funk-funk-funk, funk-funk-funk-funk-funk
Funk-funk-funk, funk-funk-funk-funk-funk, ha
Funk power, ha!
Funk power

Writer/s: STRUMMER, JOE / JONES, MICK / HEADON, TOPPER
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Overpowered

This song was written at the Ear Studios rehearsals in September 1981, and recorded in the Electric Lady studios in December 1981, featuring additional instrumentation in the form of keyboards by Poly Mandell and a rap section by Futura 2000, graffiti artist and friend of the band. He had toured with the band for the previous two years, spray-painting a graffiti stage backdrop whilst the band played, and joining them live onstage for an improvised rap song once he had finished his work. He even references his graffiti work on the New York subway trains in his rap ("The T.A. blew forty mil they say, we threw down by night, they scrubbed it off by day").

There are rumors that Futura 2000 recorded a standalone track, "The Escapades of Futura 2000" in these sessions too, but if he did it has never been released.

"Overpowered By Funk" is very much a continuation of the themes and musical styles first experimented with on "The Magnificent Seven." It is a heavy Funk track with freeform lyrics referencing capitalism ("Don't you love our Western ways?"), the Vietnam War ("Home for the floating people? Skin for the napalm victim?"), capital punishment ("Fry me in your shockin' chairs") and even using the Funk genre of music to represent the repetitive boredom of being stuck in a dead-end job ("Combative, repetitive, don't life just funk you out?"). It also includes subtle references to Tarzan and Benny Goodman.

Like "The Magnificent Seven," this song was remixed multiple times by rap radio stations in New York, and a bootleg exists of an extended six-minute-plus instrumental remix of the song.

This was only played by The Clash a handful of times - in their Paris residency in September 1981- before being dropped again. Presumably with "The Magnificent Seven" still being a massive fan favorite in The Clash's set, there wasn't room for another rap/funk song with lengthy instrumental sections and improv lyrics.

The Clash - Sean Flynn

The Clash - Sean Flynn Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Combat Rock
Released: 1982

Sean Flynn Lyrics

You know he heard the drums of war
When the past was a closing door

The drums beat into the jungle floor

Past was always a closing door
Closing door

Rain on the leaves and the soldiers sing
You never-never hear anything

They filled the sky with a tropical storm

You know he heard the drums of war
But each man knows what he's looking for

Writer/s: STRUMMER, JOE / JONES, MICK / SIMONON, PAUL / HEADON, TOPPER
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Sean Flynn

The song is named after real-life photojournalist Sean Flynn, the son of Hollywood star Errol Flynn. It is based on the story of Flynn and Dana Stone, who were both widely respected war correspondents and photographers working extensively with Time magazine. In April 1970 Flynn and Stone traveled from Phnom Penh in Vietnam and were stopped at a checkpoint before being led away by either Vietcong or Khmer Rouge members. Neither were ever seen again, and CIA intel suggests that they were executed by their captors in 1971.

The mournful, eerie feel of the song is inspired by these events, and coincides with singer Joe Strummer's interest in the Vietnam War. He was intrigued by how many Americans seemed to feel a guilt about even getting involved in the war in the first place, let alone losing it.

"Sean Flynn" was written in 1981 at Vanilla studios in London, and recorded at Marcus Music studios in April of that year. The full version of the song is over seven minutes long; much of the backing track is drummer Topper Headon's work - the oriental-sounding drum patterns were his idea. Joe Strummer worked out his lyrics to this pattern, while session musician Gary Barnacle added multi-layered saxophone solos throughout the song. Mick Jones used an echo box and multiple overdubs for his guitar parts. "Playing chromatically, like an Irish reel," according to engineer Jeremy Green.

This is a spectacular mood piece, one that many hardcore Clash fans consider one of the most under-appreciated in the band's canon. However, not everybody liked it. Manager Bernie Rhodes sat through an early mix and at the end apparently threw his hands up and shouted "Does EVERYTHING have to be a raga?!" It's possible this accusation was aimed not just at this track, but other lengthy songs such as "Straight To Hell" that were recorded for the album. On the plus side, Rhodes' exclamation gave Strummer the opening line for "Rock the Casbah."

This was one of many longer tracks on the record which ended up causing much tension during the mixing process. Joe Strummer discovered that their previous album, the triple-LP Sandinista!, was very hard to obtain - many record shops even in New York didn't stock the record. So Strummer decided that their next album would be a single one so it would be easier to sell, as well as being more straightforward musically. Except that Jones disagreed, and wanted another sprawling double or triple LP like Sandinista! or London Calling.

Jones produced an early mix of the finished album, named Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg, in late 1981, which Strummer criticized for being overlong and self-indulgent. It included all the tracks at full length, as well as several tracks which remain unreleased (including a 12-minute improvised Jazz piano instrumental called "Walk Evil Talk"). The veteran producer Glyn Johns took over production of the album and was tasked with cutting the running time down, and against Jones' wishes he cut several tracks (some of which became B-sides and others which are still unreleased) from the LP altogether, and slashed the runtime down of other tracks. "Sean Flynn" was one of the worst hit, being cut from eight minutes plus down to just over four minutes.

Because of the extreme complexity of the backing track, as well as the surreal nature of the song, it was never performed live by the band.

The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go? Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Combat Rock
Released: 1982

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Lyrics

Darling you got to let me know
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here till the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

It's always tease tease tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day is fine, and next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on and let me know
Should I Stay or should I go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This indecision's bugging me
Esta indecision me molesta
If you don't want me, set me free
Si no me quieres, librame
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Digame quien tengo ser

Don't you know which clothes even fit me?
Sabes que ropas me queda?
Come on and let me know
Me tienes que decir
Should I cool it or should I blow?
Me debo ir o quedarme?

Split

Should I stay or should I go now?
Me entra frio por los ojos
Should I stay or should I go now?
Me entra frio por los ojos
If I go there will be trouble
Si me voy va a haber peligro
And if I stay it will be double
Si me quedo va a ser doble
So you gotta let me know
Me tienes que decir
Should I cool it or should I blow?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Me entra frio por los ojos
If I go there will be trouble
Si me voy va a haber peligro
And if I stay it will be double
Si me quedo va a ser doble
So you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go

Writer/s: JONES, MICK / STRUMMER, JOE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Song Chart

One of the more popular songs by The Clash, this one uses a very unusual technique: Spanish lyrics echoing the English words.

Singing the Spanish parts with Joe Strummer was Joe Ely, a Texas singer whose 1978 album Honky Tonk Masquerade got the attention of The Clash when they heard it in England. When Ely and his band performed in London, The Clash went to a show and took them around town after the performance. They became good friends, and when The Clash came to Texas in 1979, they played some shows together. They stayed in touch, and when The Clash returned to America in 1982, they played more shows together and Ely joined them in the studio when they were recording Combat Rock at Electric Ladyland Studio in New York.

In our 2012 interview with Joe Ely, he explained: "I'm singing all the Spanish verses on that, and I even helped translate them. I translated them into Tex-Mex and Strummer kind of knew Castilian Spanish, because he grew up in Spain in his early life. And a Puerto Rican engineer (Eddie Garcia) kind of added a little flavor to it. So it's taking the verse and then repeating it in Spanish."

When we asked Ely whose idea the Spanish part was, he said, "I came in to the studio while they were working out the parts. They'd been working on the song for a few hours already, they had it sketched out pretty good. But I think it was Strummer's idea, because he just immediately, when it came to that part, he immediately went, 'You know Spanish, help me translate these things.' (Laughs) My Spanish was pretty much Tex-Mex, so it was not an accurate translation. But I guess it was meant to be sort of whimsical, because we didn't really translate verbatim."

According to Strummer, Eddie Garcia, the sound engineer, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and got her to translate some of the lyrics over the phone. Eddie's mother is Ecuadorian, so Joe Strummer and Joe Ely ended up singing in Ecuadorian Spanish.

About two minutes in, you can hear Mick Jones say, "Split!" While it sounds like it could be some kind of statement related to the song, Joe Ely tells us that it had a much more quotidian meaning. Said Ely: "Me and Joe were yelling this translation back while Mick Jones sang the lead on it, and we were doing the echo part. And there was one time when the song kind of breaks down into just the drums right before a guitar part. And you hear Mick Jones saying, 'Split!' Just really loud, kind of angry. Me and Joe had snuck around in the studio, came up in the back of his booth where he was all partitioned off, and we snuck in and jumped and scared the hell out of him right in the middle of recording the song, and he just looked at us and says, 'Split!' So we ran back to our vocal booth and they never stopped the recording."

The line, "If you want me off your back" was originally the sexually charged line "On your front or on your back." In April 1982, the famed '60s producer Glyn Johns was brought in to slash the album down and make it into a mainstream-friendly single-LP. In addition to cutting parts of songs out, he insisted that Mick Jones re-record this line, fearing that US radio stations would not touch a record with such a sexually suggestive line.

These sessions as a whole were in bad blood, with Jones furious that his original mixes of his songs were being massacred against his will, and it was this combined with other factors (such as the return of controversial manager Bernie Rhodes) which resulted in the breakdown of the band and Jones' sacking in 1983.

Mick Jones in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh said, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go? wasn't about anything specific and it wasn't pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rocking song, our attempt at writing a classic."

In a 2009 Rolling Stone article on The Clash, they state that Jones wrote this song about his girlfriend Ellen Foley, who acted on the TV series Night Court and sang with Meat Loaf on "Paradise By the Dashboard Light."

It was speculated that the song was also a comment on Jones' position in the band, pre-empting his sacking in 1983 by over a year and a half. Strummer pondered this in interviews, as did Jones. "Maybe it was pre-empting my leaving" he noted in 1991, although he did conclude that it was more likely about a "personal situation" - presumably his relationship with Foley.

Psychobilly is the punk version of rockabilly; it's a fusion genre which also gets a nice sound out of elements of everything from doo-wop to blues, but with that punk edge to it. "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" resembles early punk, almost retro style, and so could be called rockabilly. More than anything, it compares very nicely with The Cramps.

"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" is possibly one of the most covered Clash songs by dint of being one of the most popular. Just some of the groups to cover this song include Living Colour, Skin, MxPx, Weezer, ZZ Top, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Anti-Flag covered the song at various festival dates in 2012, and more memorable versions exist by Die Toten Hosen and Australian pop star Kyle Minogue. It even shows up in "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Polkas On 45" medley - a takeoff on the "Stars On 45 Medley."

As a UK #1 single, what song did it replace as #1 on the UK charts? "Do the Bartman" by The Simpsons. Speaking of charts, while this song was their only #1 in the UK, The Clash got even less respect in the US; their highest chart on the Billboard was #8 for "Rock the Casbah". That's amazing when you consider how much airplay they get on the radio.

Introduced into The Clash's live set in Paris in September 1981, "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" sat awkwardly in the set after Jones was fired - it was a hugely popular song so fans expected it to be played, but its author and singer was no longer in the band.

For a while in 1984 it was performed with new guitarist Nick Sheppard singing lead vocals, with the song developing into an aggressive Metal thrash with bellowed Punk-style vocals. In the end The Clash Mark II dropped the song altogether, although not before they also added some nasty lyrics about Jones (as was common in the post-Jones Clash, sadly). Two much more representative versions are the version of the song filmed at Shea Stadium in 1982 (supporting The Who) for the music video, and the version from Boston in 1982 that features on the From Here To Eternity live compilation.

Ice Cube and Mack 10 did a rap remake of this song for the 1998 Clash tribute album Burning London.

This was re-released as a single in February 1991 after it was used in a Levi's jeans television ad. It went to #1 in the UK, but didn't chart in the US.

Cheekily, Mick Jones used a vocal sample from this track on one of his post-Clash projects, Big Audio Dynamite. You can hear it on their song "The Globe."