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The Clash - The Card Cheat

The Clash - The Card Cheat Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

The Card Cheat Lyrics

There's a solitary man crying, hold me
It's only because he's a-lonely
If the keeper of time runs slowly
He won't be alive for long!

If he only had time to tell of all of the things he planned
With a card up his sleeve, what would he achieve?
It means nothing!

To the opium den and the barroom gin
In the Belmont chair playing violins
The gambler's face cracks into a grin
As he lays down the king of spades

But the dealer just stares
There's something wrong here, he thinks
The gambler is seized and forced to his knees
And shot dead

He only wanted more time
Away from the darkest door
But his luck it gave in
As the dawn light crept in
And he lay on the floor

From the Hundred Year War to the Crimea
With a lance and a musket and a Roman spear
To all of the men who have stood with no fear
In the service of the King

Before you met your fate be sure you
Did not forsake your lover
May not be around anymore

There's a solitary man crying, hold me
It's only because he's a-lonely
If the keeper of time runs slowly
He won't be alive for long!

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

The Card Cheat

Lead singer Joe Strummer, who wrote the lyrics to the song, noted in promotional interviews for the album that he had been reading the poetry of Sylvia Plath, and the darkness of her writing could well have been an influence on the dark lyrics of "The Card Cheat."

The song was recorded late in the London Calling sessions, and by this time according to reports, producer Guy Stevens was so inebriated he was unable to work most of the time, so guitarist Mick Jones was producing the recordings along with engineer Bill Price. It was Mick's idea to have everything in this song double-tracked, to create a Phil Spector-style "wall-of-sound" feel to the instrumentation ("That's the secret, two of everything" he said in a 1991 interview).

The lyrics continue the same themes of an outsider in society as other songs that proceeded it on the album, notably "Jimmy Jazz," "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Wrong 'Em Boyo." Contrasting to those other songs, however, "The Card Cheat" is incredibly downbeat, with the jaunty piano tunes contrasting with the lyrics about a lonely gambler finally running out of luck and being murdered in a card game ("The gambler is seized and forced to his knees and shot dead. He only wanted more time away from his darkest door, but his luck, it gave in").

The song features a horn section written and performed by The Irish Horns, who recorded all of the horn instrument sections on the London Calling album.

Due to the complexity of the backing track compared to the band's very spartan stage show, the song was never performed live by the Clash.

The Clash - Four Horsemen

The Clash - Four Horsemen Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

Four Horsemen Lyrics

Well they were given the grapes that go ripe in the sun
That loosen the screws at the back of the tongue
But they told no one where they had begun
Four Horsemen

They were given all the foods of vanity
And all the instant promises of immortality
But they bit the dust screamin' insanity!
Four horsemen

One was over the edge, one was over the cliff
One was lickin' 'em dry with a bloody great spliff
When they picked up the hiker he didn't want the lift
From the horsemen

But you!
You're not searching, are you now?
You're not looking anyhow
You're never gonna ride that lonely mile
Or put yourself up on trial
Oh, you told me how your life was so bad
An' I agree that it does seem sad
But that's the price that you gotta pay
If you're lazing all around all day
Four horsemen coming right through
Four horsemen and they're pissing by you
They make you look like you're wearing a truss
Four horsemen and it's gonna be us

Well they gave us everything for bending the mind
And we cleaned out their pockets and we drank 'em blind
It's a long way to the finish so don't get left behind
By those horsemen

And they gave us the grapes that went ripe in the sun
That loosen the screws at the back of the tongue
But we still told nothing 'bout what was to come
Four horsemen

We know, only rock and roll
We know, got rock and roll
We're in the park
Or in the campus
Cannot breathe
We beat the thief, ae ohh ah
Cannot breathe
We beat the theft, ohh ah
Cannot breathe

We know, only rock and roll
We know, got rock and roll
We know, got rock and roll
We know, got rock and roll

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

Four Horsemen

"Four Horsemen" was The Clash's attempt to lighten the tone of London Calling in the midst of very apocalyptic and dark-sounding songs such as the title track, "Clampdown," and "Death Or Glory." It features deliberately humorous lyrics, presenting The Clash as the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse in the style of Monty Python-esque parodies who are in the middle of a bit of a rubbish day ("One was over the edge, one was over the cliff, One was lickin' em dry with a bloody great spliff. When they picked up the hiker he didn't want the lift, from the horsemen"). It acts as an attempt to poke fun at themselves, showing that they acknowledge that their lyrics veer close to pretentious at times.

This song was only ever played live once: at the Russrock Festival in Finland, in August 1979. One can only assume that the band didn't play it all too often in case audiences just didn't get the joke of the lyrics.

The Clash - The Guns Of Brixton

The Clash - The Guns Of Brixton Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

The Guns Of Brixton Lyrics

When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun

When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting on death row

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, The Guns Of Brixton

The money feels good
And your life you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell

You see, he feels like Ivan
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called survivin'
At the end of the harder they come

You know it means no mercy
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun

You can crush us
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh-the guns of Brixton

When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun

You can crush us
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh-the guns of Brixton

Shot down on the pavement
Waiting in death row
His game is called survivin'
As in heaven as in hell

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton

Writer/s: SIMONON, PAUL
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Guns Of Brixton

This song was written by bass player Paul Simonon, but only because he was envious of the royalties main songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were getting. He decided to get in on the songwriting himself, and this became one of the Clash's best known songs and a staple of their live set until their demise in the mid-'80s. Simonon takes lead vocal duties on the song, which is about gangsters in his home town Brixton, which is in South London.

Interestingly, he was reticent about singing lead vocals initially, but Strummer noted that "they're your lyrics, you sing them" and the rest of the band agreed. Simonon notes: "The vocal mike was right up against the glass panel of the control room and sitting two feet behind the glass was some American CBS bloke. That's probably why the vocals came out the way they did."

Brixton was the site of race riots in 1981 and again in 1985. This song captures the alienation many citizens of Brixton felt leading up to the riots.

The central plot has Ivan, the anti-hero character from the popular film The Harder They Come (the soundtrack of which contained many of The Clash's favorite Reggae songs, including the title track) in urban South London ("You see, he feels like Ivan, born under the Brixton sun, his game is called survivin', at the end of the harder they come") and on the wrong side of the law ("When the law break in, how you gonna go? Shot down on the pavement, or waiting on death row").

In 1990 the bassline to "The Guns of Brixton" was sampled in the Beats International (AKA Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim) hit single "Dub Be Good To Me," and became a UK hit single, meaning Simonon received a credit of the royalties for his bassline. Interviewed by Scott Rowley on October 1999 for Bassist magazine, Simonon said that he "was surprised that it became number one, that was quite shocking. And the fact that it was my performance that they had lifted. The smart thing would've been to copy it and change it slightly, but they just lifted it straight off. So, really, I have done Top of the Pops! I met up with Norman [Cook] and we came to an arrangement which was much needed at the time. But I thought it was a really good idea and it was quite reassuring for that to happen to my first song."

This song was not released as a single when the London Calling album first came out, however in 1990 with the re-release of London Calling on CD, a remixed version entitled "Return to Brixton," which included the original "Guns of Brixton" mix on the B-side, was released and reached #57 on the UK charts in July 1990. Interestingly, a typo on the sleeve notes of the CD release meant Paul Simonon's name was misspelled as Paul Simon; although a very successful recording artist in his own right, the actual Paul Simon (half of Simon and Garfunkel) had nothing to do with the writing of "The Guns of Brixton"!

The song was always a popular live fixture, and Simonon's moment of glory onstage as he took lead vocals. He would swap instruments with Joe Strummer, who would play bass whilst Simonon played some rhythm guitar and sang (or usually bellowed) his vocals with great gusto. An example of this is the live version of the song which appears on the From Here To Eternity live compilation CD, taken from one of their many New York shows in June 1981. The song was first played live by the band at a September 1979 show in Chicago and at almost every show after that.

The Clash - Revolution Rock

The Clash - Revolution Rock Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

Revolution Rock Lyrics

Revolution Rock, it is a brand new rock
A bad, bad rock, this here revolution rock

Careful how you move, Mac, you dig me in me back
An' I'm so pilled up that I rattle
I have got the sharpest knife, so I cut the biggest slice
But I have no time to do battle

Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this
Brand new beat
This here music mash up the nation
This here music cause a sensation
Tell your ma, tell your pa everything's gonna be all right
Can't you feel it? Don't ignore it
Gonna be alright

Revolution rock, I am in a state of shock
So bad, bad rock, this here revolution rock

Careful how you slide, Clyde, all you did was glide
And you poured your beer in me hat
With my good eye on the beat, living on fixation street
And I ain't got no time for that

Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this
Brand new beat
This here music mash up the nation
This here music cause a sensation
Tell your ma, tell your pa everything's gonna be all right
Can't you feel it? Don't ignore it
Gonna be alright

Revolution rock,
Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this
Brand new beat
This here music mash up the nation
This here music cause a sensation
Tell your ma, tell your pa everything's gonna be all right
Can't you feel it? Don't ignore it
Gonna be alright

Revolution rock,

To the cruellist mobsters in Kingstown,
With the hardest eyes and the coldest tongue
Is your heart so made of rock
That the blood must flow 'round the block?
Are you listening mobsters? Hey!
All people grow old, gotta die,
While those kinda fools go rolling by
It's food for thought, mobsters
Young people shoot their days away
I've seen talent thrown away
All you loan sharks!

The organ plays
And they're dancing to the brand new beat
This here music mash up the nation
This here music cause a sensation
Tell your ma-ma-ma-ma, tell your pa-pa-pa-pa everything's gonna be all right
Can't you feel it? Don't ignore it
Everything's gonna be alright
I say, revolution rocks

There's that old cheese grater
Rubbing me down
This must be the way out

Here's the cheap bit
OO la oo la oo la

Any song you want
Playing requests now on the bandstand
El Clash Combo
Paid fifteen dollars a day
Weddings, parties, anything
And Bongo Jazz a speciality

Writer/s: J. EDWARDS, D. RAY
Publisher: CONEXION MEDIA GROUP, INC., NEWMAN & COMPANY CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Revolution Rock

This song was originally recorded by the Jamaican group Danny Ray and the Revolutioneers in 1976. Danny Ray sampled the Jackie Edwards song "Get Up" on the track, so Edwards and Ray are the credited songwriters of "Revolution Rock."

When The Clash recorded the song, lead singer Joe Strummer changed some of the original lyrics, inserting a reference to Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife" ("Careful how you move, Mac, you dig me in me back") and to the Punk craze of smashing/ripping up seats in venues with seating instead of standing room ("Everybody smash up your seats, and rock to this brand new beat").

First recorded at Wessex in July 1979, an instrumental version of this song features over the end credits of the Rude Boy movie taken from these early sessions. The song was then re-recorded with Guy Stevens for London Calling, with new instrumental parts by the Irish Horns.

Always a fun song to play live, often becoming quite a rave-up, "Revolution Rock" was a live fixture from it's introduction at The Clash's 1979 Christmas shows in London until it was dropped in mid-1981.

The Clash - The Right Profile

The Clash - The Right Profile Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

The Right Profile Lyrics

Say, where did I see this guy?
In 'Red River'?
Or a 'Place In The Sun'?
Maybe 'The Misfits'?
Or 'From Here to Eternity'?

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

New York, New York, 42nd Street
Hustlers rustle and pimps pimp the beat
Monty Clift is recognized at dawn
He ain't got no shoes and his clothes are torn

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's that Montgomery Clift, honey!

I see a car smashed at night
Cut the applause and dim the light
Monty's face is broken on a wheel
Is he alive? Can he still feel?

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "Shine a light"
And everybody say, "It's not funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

Shoot his right profile

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

Nembutol, numbs it all
But I prefer alcohol

And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

He said go out and get me my old movie stills
Go out and get me another roll of pills
There I go again shaking, but I ain't got the chills

ARRRGHHHGORRA BUH BHUH DO ARRRRGGGGHHHHNNNN!!!!

And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

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

The Right Profile

"The Right Profile" is about actor Montgomery Clift (A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity) and his troubled life. Clift had problems with pills and alcohol. The car crash into a tree discussed in this song occurred in 1956, while he was driving home from a party at Elizabeth Taylor's house. She saved his life then, but he died in 1966 of coronary occlusion, what some have called the "slowest suicide" in cinema history.

London Calling producer Guy Stevens had lent singer Joe Strummer a copy of Patricia Bosworth's 1978 biography of Clift, and suggested that perhaps Strummer write a song about him. With Stevens also suffering from alcohol and drug problems, perhaps Strummer saw parallels between Clift and The Clash's troubled producer? Roadie Johnny Green suggested that this was the case in his memoirs.

After Clift's car accident, his face was mangled and he needed plastic surgery for a broken jaw. He continued to make movies, but had to be shot from "The Right Profile" to look good, hence the name of the song.

Clift has been the subject of other songs as well, including R.E.M.'s "Monty Got a Raw Deal" from their 1992 album, Automatic for the People.

An the album cover is a photo of Clash bass player Paul Simonon smashing his instrument during a show at The Palladium in New York City. He later regretted doing it, because it was his best bass. The smashed bass is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Musically "The Right Profile" is one of the highlights of the London Calling album, featuring heavy usage of the Irish Horns to create a swing feel. Sadly this also proved to be the song's performance downfall, as unlike other horn-heavy songs on the album (such as "Revolution Rock" and "Rudie Can't Fail"), there was no way it could be played live without the horn section.