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“Tommy Gun” was London punk rock band The Clash’s seventh single, and the first single taken from their second album Give ‘Em Enough Rope’
Joe Strummer said that he got the idea for the song when he was thinking about terrorists, and how they probably enjoy reading about their killings as much as movie stars like seeing their films reviewed. While Topper Headon mimics the sound of gangster movie shootings with quick snare hits and the guitars are full of distortion and feedback… , Strummer’s sarcastic lyrics (I’m cutting out your picture from page one/I’m gonna get a jacket just like yours/And give my false support to your cause/Whatever you want, you’re gonna get it!) condemn rather than condone violence: at the end of the song he sings, If death comes so cheap/Then the same goes for life!
In the liner notes of the recently released Singles Box, Carl Barat (former frontman of Dirty Pretty Things and The Libertines), says that “Tommy Gun” was important for music at the time because it let people know what was going on in the world—it talked about real issues. He says, “It’s “Tommy Gun” a product of the volatile climate of the late seventies - all those references to terrorist organizations like Baader-Meinhof and The Red Brigade. It’s like a punk rock adaptation of The Beatles’ “Revolution”.”
Joe Strummer said that he got the idea for the song when he was thinking about terrorists, and how they probably enjoy reading about their killings as much as movie stars like seeing their films reviewed. While Topper Headon mimics the sound of gangster movie shootings with quick snare hits and the guitars are full of distortion and feedback… , Strummer’s sarcastic lyrics (I’m cutting out your picture from page one/I’m gonna get a jacket just like yours/And give my false support to your cause/Whatever you want, you’re gonna get it!) condemn rather than condone violence: at the end of the song he sings, If death comes so cheap/Then the same goes for life!
In the liner notes of the recently released Singles Box, Carl Barat (former frontman of Dirty Pretty Things and The Libertines), says that “Tommy Gun” was important for music at the time because it let people know what was going on in the world—it talked about real issues. He says, “It’s “Tommy Gun” a product of the volatile climate of the late seventies - all those references to terrorist organizations like Baader-Meinhof and The Red Brigade. It’s like a punk rock adaptation of The Beatles’ “Revolution”.”
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1978 BBC appearance.
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Albums featuring this track
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Clash on Broadway (disc 2)
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The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (disc 2)
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The Singles
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Give 'Em Enough Rope
The Clash Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.90
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New
Shouts
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redthinguk wrote:
I LOVE this one. Love Rock the Casbah too, mind. Remember this at Hammersmith Odeon in... ooh.. '82?
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BankRobber67 wrote:
Bravo Yokerpunk. Rock The Casbah is puke! This is real, raw and releavant. I was one of the class of '77 and this still rocks. "Up the Gers"
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yokerpunk wrote:
one of the best clash songs ever when they were at their best. no rock the casbah shite here.
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an_outlaw wrote:
very good
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amixedtape wrote:
I have to disagree on this one, they have much better songs. However, if you listen to this closely you can begin to hear what eventually evolves into pop punk.
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drussellsdct wrote:
what is there not to like?
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avaggon wrote:
cool old skool punk music
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melodyyx wrote:
i like this song it isn't the best, but it is very enjoyable
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jonnylion wrote:
this used to be one of my least favourite clash songs, starting to really like it.
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Handsakers wrote:
Did you have to gun down everyone?
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szakacszoltan wrote:
Grandes Los Clash!
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brightbones wrote:
whatever he wants hes gonna get it
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maniacmyke666 wrote:
give'm enough rope was the first punk record i ever owned like way back in the stone age, paid 4.95 for it at swallens, it still withstands the test of time...mm666
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James_Gull wrote:
i really don't like this song, and i love the clash
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Daweqq wrote:
libofka
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abaldwin360 wrote:
Classic!!! Damn this makes me feel so old.
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RTGUY wrote:
Saw them live.
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Clashnroller wrote:
Powerful and honest.
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OliverTho wrote:
+++++
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quiniflip wrote:
Perfect !!!
The Clash
Tommy Gun
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