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Ghetto Defendant Lyrics
Do the worm on the Acropolis
Slam dance the cosmopolis
Enlighten the populace
Hungry darkness of living
Who will thirst in the pit?
Hooked in metropolis
She spent a lifetime deciding
How to run from it
Addicts of metropolis
Once fate had a witness
And the years seemed like friends
Girlfriends
Her babies can dream
But dreams begin like the end
Shot into eternity
Methadone kitty
Iron serenity
Ghetto defendant
It is heroin pity
Not tear gas nor baton charge
That stops you taking the city
Strung out committee
Walled out of the city
Clubbed down from uptown
Sprayed pest from the nest
Run out to barrio town
The guards are itchy
Forced to watch at the feast
Then sweep up the night
Flipped pieces of coin
Broken bottles
Exchanged for birthright
Grafted in a jiffy
Strung out committee
Sitting pretty
Graphed in a jiffy
No pity, pretty
The ghetto prince of gutter poets
Was bounced out of the room
Jean Arthur Rimbaud
By the bodyguards of greed
For disturbing the tomb
1873
His words like flamethrowers
Paris commune
Burnt the ghettos in their chests
His face was painted whiter
And he was laid to rest
Died in Marseilles
Buried in Charleville
Shut up
Soap floods oil in water
All churn in the wake
On the great ship of progress
The crew can't find the brake
Klaxons are blaring
The admiral snores command
Submarines boil in oceans
While the armies fight with suns
Slam dance the cosmopolis
Enlighten the populace
Who will thirst in the pit?
Hooked in metropolis
She spent a lifetime deciding
How to run from it
Addicts of metropolis
Once fate had a witness
And the years seemed like friends
Girlfriends
Her babies can dream
But dreams begin like the end
Shot into eternity
Methadone kitty
Iron serenity
It is heroin pity
Not tear gas nor baton charge
That stops you taking the city
Walled out of the city
Clubbed down from uptown
Sprayed pest from the nest
Run out to barrio town
The guards are itchy
Forced to watch at the feast
Then sweep up the night
Flipped pieces of coin
Broken bottles
Exchanged for birthright
Grafted in a jiffy
Sitting pretty
Graphed in a jiffy
No pity, pretty
Was bounced out of the room
Jean Arthur Rimbaud
By the bodyguards of greed
For disturbing the tomb
1873
His words like flamethrowers
Paris commune
Burnt the ghettos in their chests
His face was painted whiter
And he was laid to rest
Died in Marseilles
Buried in Charleville
Shut up
All churn in the wake
On the great ship of progress
The crew can't find the brake
Klaxons are blaring
The admiral snores command
Submarines boil in oceans
While the armies fight with suns
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
this song is about the C.I.A.'s involvement with the drug trade in the Ghetto's
It's about the drugs business in the ghetto's of the world not wanting change. But simply rich pickings.
NOT TEAR GAS NOR BATON CHARGE THAT STOPS YOU TAKING THE CITY
THE ADMIRAL SNORES COMMAND SUBMARINES BOIL IN OCEANS WHILE THE ARMIES FIGHT WITH SUNS
[We've got our priorities wrong].
the title of the song is ironic cuz its talking about the military that is defending the ghettos. Where as the priorities r set on the outside of the country instead of the inside. the ghetto doesnt need to be defended it needs to be fixed.
It's an allegory, which would be more clear if Ginsberg's poem wasn't interspersed with Strummer's lyrics, but set off on their own like on the album sleeve. ostensibly, the song is about a graffiti artist/street poet who eventually becomes famous in the white art community and dies (His words like flamethrowers Burnt the ghettos in their chests His face was painted whiter And he was laid to rest) The deeper story is that of black music and other art forms being "cleaned up" for the dominant culture, "painted whiter" as the song says. The originators of that art form move on, and it is "laid to rest." Ginsberg's poem effectively ties that to mainstream culture absorbing the counterculture into itself.
THIS SONG IS THE BEST SONG!!! I love listening to it.
Yeah, it kicks ass. Its also pretty self explanitory.
This is incredible. The contrast between the two lyrical and vocal styles is beautiful.
This song is awesome! i always play this and my friends are like "what the hell is this???! it's a great song i love the vocal contrasts.
This is such an amazing song. I can't stop listening to it, and whenever I pick up a guitar, I start playing this.
There is always so much to digest with a Clash song. Loads of references and imagery to unpick.
You can find the whole album on youtube if you have have worn out your copy!