1
The kingdom is ransacked
The jewels all taken back
And the chopper descends
They're hidden in the back
With a message written on a half-baked potato
The spool goes 'round
Sayin' I'm back here in this place
And I could cry
And there's smoke you could click on
What are we gonna do now?
Taking off his turban, they said, "is this man a Jew?"
'Cause they're working for the clampdown
They put up a poster saying: "We earn more than you
We're working for the clampdown
We will teach our twisted speech
To the young believers
We will train our blue-eyed men
To be young believers"
The judge said, five to ten, but I say double that again
I'm not working for the clampdown
No man born with a living soul
Can be working for the clampdown
Kick over the wall 'cause government's to fall
How can you refuse it?
Let fury have the hour, anger can be power
Do you know that you can use it?
The voices in your head are calling
Stop wasting your time, there's nothing coming
Only a fool would think someone could save you
The men at the factory are old and cunning
You don't owe nothing, boy, get runnin'
It's the best years of your life they want to steal
But you grow up and you calm down
And working for the clampdown
You start wearing blue and brown
You're working for the clampdown
So you got someone to boss around
It make you feel big now
You drift until you brutalize
Make your first kill now
In these days of evil Presidentes
Working for the clampdown
But lately one or two has fully paid their due
For working for the clampdown
Ha! Get along! Get along! (working for the clampdown)
Ha! Get along! Get along! (working for the clampdown)
Yeah, I'm working hard in Harrisburg
Working hard in Petersburg
Working for the clampdown
Working for the clampdown
Ha! Get along! Get along!
Beggin' to be melted down
(Get along! Get along!)
Work, work, work
And I'll give away no secrets
Work, work, more work, more work
Work, work, work, work, work
Who's barmy now?
The jewels all taken back
And the chopper descends
They're hidden in the back
With a message written on a half-baked potato
The spool goes 'round
Sayin' I'm back here in this place
And I could cry
And there's smoke you could click on
What are we gonna do now?
Taking off his turban, they said, "is this man a Jew?"
'Cause they're working for the clampdown
They put up a poster saying: "We earn more than you
We're working for the clampdown
We will teach our twisted speech
To the young believers
We will train our blue-eyed men
To be young believers"
The judge said, five to ten, but I say double that again
I'm not working for the clampdown
No man born with a living soul
Can be working for the clampdown
Kick over the wall 'cause government's to fall
How can you refuse it?
Let fury have the hour, anger can be power
Do you know that you can use it?
The voices in your head are calling
Stop wasting your time, there's nothing coming
Only a fool would think someone could save you
The men at the factory are old and cunning
You don't owe nothing, boy, get runnin'
It's the best years of your life they want to steal
But you grow up and you calm down
And working for the clampdown
You start wearing blue and brown
You're working for the clampdown
So you got someone to boss around
It make you feel big now
You drift until you brutalize
Make your first kill now
In these days of evil Presidentes
Working for the clampdown
But lately one or two has fully paid their due
For working for the clampdown
Ha! Get along! Get along! (working for the clampdown)
Ha! Get along! Get along! (working for the clampdown)
Yeah, I'm working hard in Harrisburg
Working hard in Petersburg
Working for the clampdown
Working for the clampdown
Ha! Get along! Get along!
Beggin' to be melted down
(Get along! Get along!)
Work, work, work
And I'll give away no secrets
Work, work, more work, more work
Work, work, work, work, work
Who's barmy now?
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I have a different view- starting with the song's title, which was used throughout the second half of the 20th century as moscow clamped down on expressions of dissent and individual freedom in eastern european states.
I think that Clampdown is about the socialist worker-style communist groups that were relatively popular in Britain at the time. I agree with everyone that it's one of the Clash's best songs, but I think a couple of the lyrics are wrong above, and that the reading I suggest is the most coherent and consistent.
"Cover the wall, cause governments can fall- how can you refuse it" I reckon this is about putting up communist posters, and the allure of socialist revolution to young people.
"Stop wasting your time, there's nothing coming" means 'stop waiting for the revolution'.
"Evil Presidentes working for the clampdown"- it's pretty clear that refers to dictators- Castro was always presidente. The reference to "paying their dues" is also a communist party/trade union reference.
If you look at the song with this interpretation, the rest makes sense too. The Clash were social commentators, whose main message was one of personal and class emancipation. But they were too intelligent and iconoclastic to be moscow-line communists. This song is a rejection of the cult-like communist groups that still exist in much of the western world, and the "best years of your life" these groups too often steal from idealistic young activists.
That's my two cents anyway!
I can't see any clear references in that song that would specifically address left-wing regimes .. moscow, cuban or otherwise. So i would assume the song is to be interpreted in a broader sense and probably dealing with situation in the UK or western countries in general.
"Evil presidentes", at least during the Clash's time, were far more US-supported right wing regimes than left wing ones (El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, etc.).
@fte I really can't see Joe Strummer or Mick Jones writing ANYTHING that could be interpreted as pro-reactionary or pro-capitalism. Remember, the very next album: Sandinista !
@fte The Clash certainly weren't orthodox Marxists but I think that interpretation of the song is way off. The Clash had still found common cause with the SWP , playing the Anti Nazi League carnival although it's true they never fully signed up to any party line. I think the clampdown here refers to the increasing authoritarianism of the British esrablishment - after all Thatcher had recently come to power when the song was written. "Cover the wall" is actually "Kick over the wall" - that's what it says on the lyric sheet on the album. The "evil presidentes" are most likely right wing US backed dictators, and "fully paid their due" just means "got what was coming to them". The "best years of your life they want to steal" in context refers to factory work. You might be right about "there's nothing coming" but that might equally mean being offered some golden opportunity by the system.