B-side "The Guns of Brixton" Format 7" single Length 3:50 | Released 1980 Genre Punk rock | |
Recorded August–September 1979, November 1979 at Wessex Studios | ||
"Clampdown" is a single and a song by The Clash from their album London Calling. The song began as an instrumental track called "Working and Waiting". It is sometimes called "Working for the Clampdown" which is the main lyric of the song, and also the title provided on the album's lyric sheet. Its lyrics comment on people who forsake the idealism of youth and urges young people to fight the status quo.
Contents
In 1980 "Clampdown" was released as a single backed with "The Guns of Brixton" in Australia. The single was not released in any other territories, with the exception of US promos.
Analysis of lyrics
"Clampdown" was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.
The song's lyrics, written by Joe Strummer, refers to the failures of capitalist society. The wearing of the "blue and brown" refers to the color of the uniforms that are mostly worn by workers. This idea goes along with lyrics that refer to "young believers" who are brought and bought into the capital system by those "working for the clampdown" who will "teach with twisted speech." Strummer wrote,
The men in the factory are old and cunning You don't owe nothing, so boy get running! It's the best years of your life they want to steal! You grow up and you calm down and you're working for the clampdown. You start wearing the blue and brown and you're working for the clampdown. So you got someone to boss around. It makes you feel big now...These lyrics are seen to refer to how one gets caught by the capital economic system and its ethos of work, debt, power, position and conformist lifestyle. Strummer, who was a proud and loud socialist, also uses the song's closing refrain to highlight this mindset and potential trap and offers a warning not to give oneself over to "the clampdown". This is emphasized in the coda by Jones' repetition of the words "work" and "more work" on the beat over Strummers breathy repetition of the phrase "working for the clampdown". This reaffirms the idea that Strummer saw "the clampdown" as a threat to all who get caught up in the modern economic wage-hour system. Bass player and Clash co-founder Paul Simonon, in an interview with the LA Times, spoke about the opportunities available to him after he finished his education,
Strummer, like Simonon, spent time on the dole, but Strummer did not come from a lower-class family. In the same interview with the LA Times Strummer said,
Strummer's father was a diplomat in the British Field Service, and Joe was sent away to boarding school where he detested "the thick rich people’s thick rich kids". Strummer said,
Later verses suggest an alternative in revolution, a theme common throughout Joe Strummer's songwriting. This point of view also points to the lyric "You start wearing the blue and brown" as supporting their cause. The barely audible lyrics at the beginning of the song were deciphered by Clash fan Ade Marks, and first published in Q magazine's Clash special:
The kingdom was ransacked, the jewels got taken back And a chopper descends They hid it in the back, and they switched it on and off But the tape of spool just ends, they say now I'm back Hit at his face in a crack But he said there's a click on the lens What are we going to do now?Analysis of music
The song is mostly in the key of A major. A key change to E major in the bridge.
The coda features a bouncing dance, alternating between G and F# chords as the riff slowly fades, featuring Strummer's ad libs and the repeated lyric based on "work".
Cover versions
"Clampdown" was later covered by Rage Against the Machine at their first live show in 1991, as well as their more recent show in Antwerp, Belgium on 2 June 2008. It was also covered by Indigo Girls and can be heard on Rarities (2005) as well as the Clash tribute album Burning London: The Clash Tribute (1999). The song was also covered by The Strokes (at their Oxegen and T in the Park appearances in July 2004), Poster Children on their 2004 release, On the Offensive, and James Dean Bradfield (of the Manic Street Preachers) on his solo tour in October 2006. Another band that covered this song was Hot Water Music, on their B sides and rarities compilation album called Till the Wheels Fall Off. The song was also covered by The National on the album A Tribute to The Clash, and by Inward Eye, which they released through a video on their YouTube channel. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band covered the song a few times on their 2014 High Hopes Tour.
Rock Band music gaming platform
It was made available to download on 1 February 2011 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which utilizes real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to vocals.
Personnel
The following people contributed to "Clampdown":