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Gangsters Lyrics
Bernie Rhodes knows "Don't Argue"
Why must you record my phone calls?
Are you planning a bootleg LP?
Said you've been threatened by gangsters
Now it's you, that's threatening me
Can't fight corruption with con tricks
They use the law to commit crime
And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in gangster time
Don't call me scar face
Can't interrupt while I'm talking
Or they'll confiscate all your guitars
and catch 22 says if I sing the truth
they won't make me an overnight star
Don't offer us legal protection
They use the law to commit crime
I dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in gangster time
Bernie Rhodes knows "Don't Argue"
Are you planning a bootleg LP?
Said you've been threatened by gangsters
Now it's you, that's threatening me
They use the law to commit crime
And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in gangster time
Or they'll confiscate all your guitars
and catch 22 says if I sing the truth
they won't make me an overnight star
They use the law to commit crime
I dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in gangster time
Song Info
Submitted by
beautifuldisaster On Jun 06, 2002
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great tune, apparantly based on a time the specials toured france, got in a row with a hotelier over something the damned did when they stayed at the same hotel and the owners demanded money or they would not give them their instruments back until the specials manager, bernie rhodes (a bit of a geezer) 'talked to' the hotels owner. hence 'bernie rhodes knows....dont argue'. altogether now..dum dum dum dum, d-d-d-d-d-dum dum
oh, and the melody has been borrowed from a tune called al capone, think its by prince buster, but wouldnt swear on it.
Yeah the music is from prince buster's al capone, and the original intro was "al capone's guns don't argue" and the specials sing basically the only line from the original, "don't call me scarface"
yes but if u play listen to the guitar in al capone it is very different the specials did a very very good job at rewriting the song
I would.
Bernie Rhodes, who knows, dont' argue was thier manager at the time, he was also the manager for The Clash at various times as well. Most of the song is the shit of various credibitly he used to spurt, as well as references to events when he was managing them, such as the guitars incident.