Week Feb. 28 - Mar. 6

Straight To Hell
Lyrics by Joe Strummer

If you can play on the fiddle
How's about a British jig an' reel
Speaking King's English in quotation
As railhead towns feel the steel mills rust
Water froze in the generation
Clear as winter ice
This is you paradise

There ain't no need for ya, there ain't no need for ya
Go straight to Hell boys, go straight to Hell boys

You wanna join in the chorus of the Amerasian blues
When it's Christmas out in Ho Chi Minh city
And kiddie say Papa-papa-papa-papa-papa-San, take me home
See me got photo, photo, photograph of you
And Mama-mama-mama-San
Of you and Mama-mama-mama-San
Let me tell you 'bout your blood, Bamboo Kid
It ain't Coca-Cola, it's rice

Straight to Hell boys, go straight to Hell boys
Oh Papa-San, please take me home
Oh Papa-San, everybody they wanna go home
So Mama-San says

You wanna play mind-crazed banjo
On the druggie drag ragtime U.S.A.
In Parkland International, heh! Junkiedom U.S.A.
Where procaine proves the purest rock man groove
And rat poison
The volatile Molatov says
Ah, ah, ah, ah... straight to Hell!

Can you cough it up loud and strong
The immigrants they wanna sing all night long
It could be anywhere
Most likely could be any frontier, any hemisphere
In no-man's land
There ain't no asylum here
King Solomon, he never lived round here

Meaning: This song is overall about American imperialism in Vietnam. Or something like that. Lots of professional analysts have identified the child to be the son of a Vietnamese woman and an American G.I. And I could see how they would arrive at that conclusion. This boy supposedly takes more pride in his American blood rather than his Vietnamese blood. That is why he is asking his dad (the G.I.) to take him "home," which he takes to be the United States, I guess. And his mom tells him otherwise, that his real home is in Vietnam: "Let me tell you 'bout your blood, Bamboo Kid. It ain't Coca-Cola, it's rice."

Opinion: I really like this song. It's my favorite Clash song of all time. This is the first song that made me realize, "You know, the United States isn't the greatest country in the world (well maybe they are at the moment). You should be proud of where you come from and not be embarrassed by it." The tune is awesome. It really sounds like an Asian song. And the way Joe sings it is appropriate as well. The Clash is amazing.

Why? Simple. Because it's my favorite Clash song and it is a really meaningful song.