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Career Opportunities Lyrics
The offered me the office, offered me the shop
They said I'd better take anything they'd got
Do you want to make tea at the BBC?
Do you want to be, do you really want to be a cop?
Career opportunities are the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunity, the ones that never knock
I hate the army an' I hate the R.A.F.
I don't want to go fighting in the tropical heat
I hate the civil service rules
And I won't open letter bombs for you
Bus driver....ambulance man....ticket inspector
They're gonna have to introduce conscription
They're gonna have to take away my prescription
If they want to get me making toys
If they want to get me, well, I got no choice
Careers
Careers
Careers
Ain't never gonna knock
They said I'd better take anything they'd got
Do you want to make tea at the BBC?
Do you want to be, do you really want to be a cop?
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunity, the ones that never knock
I don't want to go fighting in the tropical heat
I hate the civil service rules
And I won't open letter bombs for you
They're gonna have to take away my prescription
If they want to get me making toys
If they want to get me, well, I got no choice
Careers
Careers
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Late '70s, massive unemployment in Britain. Of course that's not enough to persuade Joe Strummer to sell out and sign up for some government job, especially one where he has to put his life on the line. Watch the film The Filth & The Fury for background.
this song is about how society boxes us into chosing a mainstream job and how obviously some people just dont fit into mainstream culture. I can totaly relate, awesome song
It's also about keeping people in their place. They give you a job 'opportunity' that'll keep you just happy enough to keep you from revolting or leaving.
This song is just about the way shit jobs were foisted on the young during the late 70s, the line about taking away prescription is the state of the NHS which was struggling(as it is now) with lack of funding, the line about conscription is about reintroduction of civil service and the line about letter bombs is when Mick worked for a Social Services office where his job was to open letters, due to a bomb scare, Mick hated this due to the awful treatment of the Irish and Blacks at the offices He wrote about the staff-these people here have no rock'n roll in thier lives
<a href="http://www.achievepeak.com/our-team">dispute resolution</a>
<a href="http://www.achievepeak.com/our-team">dispute resolution</a>
this is a prime example of real punk. i tried to get my band to play it, but they're all idiots...
I agree with Rich_M & RapIsNotMusic.
aebassist forgot the "Oi!" Joe chants. It's great.
I love the part "I hate the civil service rules, and I won't open letter bombs for you". I love the version of this song on the Essential Clash DVD. :D
Great song off of their first album.. Great social commentary.
Yip the essential version rules it really highlights the way the Clash cared about what was happening the wat he changes the lyrics to talk about Falklands.
Then you shouldn't playing with them