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Charlie Don't Surf Lyrics
CHORUS
Charlie don't surf and we think he should
Charlie don't surf and you know that it ain't no good
Charlie don't surf for his hamburger Momma
Charlie's gonna be a napalm star
Everybody wants to rule the world
Must be something we get from birth
One truth is we never learn
Satellites will make space burn
We've been told to keep the strangers out
We don't like them starting to hang around
We don't like them all over town
Across the world we are going to blow them down
CHORUS
The reign of the super powers must be over
So many armies can't free the earth
Soon the rock will roll over
Africa is choking on their Coca Cola
It's a one a way street in a one horse town
One way people starting to brag around
You can laugh, put them down
These one way people gonna blow us down
CHORUS
Charlie don't surf he'll never learn
Charlie don't surf though he's got a gun
Charlie don't surf think that he should
Charlie don't surf we really think he should
Charlie don't surf
Charlie don't surf and we think he should
Charlie don't surf and you know that it ain't no good
Charlie don't surf for his hamburger Momma
Charlie don't surf
Charlie don't surf and we think he should
Charlie don't surf and you know that it ain't no good
Charlie don't surf for his hamburger Momma
Charlie's gonna be a napalm star
Must be something we get from birth
One truth is we never learn
Satellites will make space burn
We don't like them starting to hang around
We don't like them all over town
Across the world we are going to blow them down
So many armies can't free the earth
Soon the rock will roll over
Africa is choking on their Coca Cola
One way people starting to brag around
You can laugh, put them down
These one way people gonna blow us down
Charlie don't surf though he's got a gun
Charlie don't surf think that he should
Charlie don't surf we really think he should
Charlie don't surf
Charlie don't surf and you know that it ain't no good
Charlie don't surf for his hamburger Momma
Charlie don't surf
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Charlie Don't Surf is a famous line from the film Apocalypse Now, spoken by Colonel Kilgore as justification for taking a beach at the Mekong Delta so the American soldiers could go surfing
The song -- as well as the line from the movie -- is about American Imperialism.
And it's totally awesome... Charlie don't surf for his hamburger mama... it's another movie paraphrasing. The internal dialog of the main character of the film "ever day I'm here I grow weaker, ever day Charlie squats in the jungle he grows stronger" and the later line about them "being happy eating a little rat". Apocalypse Now was statement that wasn't overlooked by Joe Strummer. Both powerful voices.
And it's totally awesome... Charlie don't surf for his hamburger mama... it's another movie paraphrasing. The internal dialog of the main character of the film "ever day I'm here I grow weaker, ever day Charlie squats in the jungle he grows stronger" and the later line about them "being happy eating a little rat". Apocalypse Now was statement that wasn't overlooked by Joe Strummer. Both powerful voices.
this song is definatly about the US's governments foriegn policy of spreading western culture customs to other nations.
charlie (code for the enemy army, specifically the vietcong) "charlie don't surf and we think he should" - the enemy doesn't surf, a western custom, and we want them to be like us and surf. also references to hamburgers and coka cola, american customs.
it's a very pretty song, too.
It's about imperialism, and the "Californication" of the rest of the world. Forcing consumerism on cultures that aren't interested...our main export in the USA. A classic... I saw them live in 82 in Chicago, the same place/time Tom Morrello saw them, even got the T-shirt to prove it.
Found out about it the same place as iamrickenfort... I'm assuming. The restaurant called Charlie Don't Surf in White Rock, B.C. Good songggg.
as i read these lyrics, there is an ad for john McCain for president.
The song isn't about spreading Western culture. It's about the justification of violence against those we deem to be too different from ourselves in how they live their lives and in their values. We surf. Charlie don't. You know that that ain't no good.
@winkosmosis A key lyric in the song is 'Africa is choking on their coca-colas'. That is not about 'justification of violence', so much as it is suggesting that trying to bring first-world culture to third-world nations can hurt them more than help them.
@winkosmosis A key lyric in the song is 'Africa is choking on their coca-colas'. That is not about 'justification of violence', so much as it is suggesting that trying to bring first-world culture to third-world nations can hurt them more than help them.
This is a great song first of all. At first I didn't really understand it's meaning but after seeing Apocolipse Now. If you want to understand the meaning see the movie!
Africa is choking on their Coca Cola may be the best Clash lyric ever. Which is really saying something.
Lets see the T shirt, then. Juuust kidding. I first heard this song at a restaurant called, ironically, Charlie Don't Surf. Its a small place down by the beach in my hometown. I plan on seeing Apocolypse Now sometime in the future.
"We've been told to keep the strangers out We don't like them starting to hang around We don't like them all over town" The Vietcong keeping USA out
@Armegideon A curious take on it. The last line of that stanza is 'Across the world we're gonna blow 'em down'. If anything, that lyric is written from the perspective of the US government sending troops overseas to Vietnam.
@Armegideon A curious take on it. The last line of that stanza is 'Across the world we're gonna blow 'em down'. If anything, that lyric is written from the perspective of the US government sending troops overseas to Vietnam.