Four Horsemen

The outro lyrics run differently, and are not as metaphoric. I listened to the fragment umpteen times just now and looked through the internets, and I came up with this: "We play all your rock and roll We know your rockin' soul We reach the parts other combos cannot reach! We reach the beaches/beachheads other armies cannot reach! We've reached the top of the mountain they cannot reach!" (That's sing365.com for you.) Anyway, I think it's plain to see the song references Westerns, as Clash songs did several times, and as usual, the reference is antisystemic. And it is about The Clash as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - the system tried to buy them, but they didn't sell out, and they reached the heights while making lazy people realize there's a war to be won. I also think the "grapes that loosen the screws at the back of the tongue" was the wine that the CEOs served them to learn what their next project, "London Calling" was to be like (and about). And, as is well known, they signed a deal for a single album with a set price, and made a double album while the CEOs' hands were tied.

This song is really good, love the lyrics one of my favorites.

The outro is not listed but i think its something like

" We played all your rock n roll We know your rock n roll We read the book of the conquerors, it cannot be We read the speeches of the kuran, it cannot be We read the book of the conquerors

We played your rock n roll We know your know rock roll (x2)"

this song is awesome!

I would guess that the 4 horseman refers to the biblical notion that 4 horsemen: white, red, black, pale, which forebode the apocalypse, or in a personal sense, perhaps death.

I am not too sure about the lyrics, they seem to have a flavor of acting in a meaningful way before those horseman get you-don't sit around bitching about how unjust or bad life is if you don't try to do anything about it. Drugs and holding yourself up to your own (perhaps lofty) standards-put yourself on trial are featured as well.

i think it means that although the four horsemen died they still had more fun than the people who lie back and play it safe because they did what they wanted and lived their lives, although i dont quite understand why they say four horsemen, it must have some kind of meaning

i think the four horsemen represents death and the song is about death and they are talking about themselves or people they know and nobody likes them and there on drugs or have a bad life that's why the song has we and others and there getting old and going to die

This is about one of the Clash's biggest influences: the Sex Pistols, and how they destroyed themselves. The "four horsemen" are Jonny Rotten, Steve Jones, Sid Vicious and Paul Cook.

This song is about the Clash guys themselves....

One was over the edge, one was over the cliff One was lickin' em dry with a bloody great spliff When they picked up the hiker he didn't want the lift From the horsemen

The spliff guy is obviously Mick Jones, the Hiker who didnt want the lift was Terry Chimes the original drummer.

They are just singing about the themselves...... "Four hosemen and it's gonna be us"

It took me a while to realize this song's brilliance, but now for me its one of the highlights of London Calling. I'm glad Sloee added the outro lyrics, because for me the Four Horsemen of the title are in fact the Four Horsemen of Rock and Roll. Definately. The Clash, the Pistols, Elvis, the stones--in general just any rockers, past, present, and future who changed the game by the way they rocked.