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The Guns of Brixton Lyrics
When they kick at your front door
How you going to come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun?
When the law break in
How you going to go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting on death row?
You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
The money feels good
And your life, you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell
You see, he feels like Ivan
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called surviving
At the end of the harder they come
You know it means no mercy
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun
You can crush us
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh, the guns of Brixton
When they kick at your front door
How you going to come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun?
You can crush us
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh, the guns of Brixton
Shot down on the pavement
Waiting in death row
His game is called surviving
As in heaven, as in hell
You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
How you going to come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun?
How you going to go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting on death row?
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
And your life, you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called surviving
At the end of the harder they come
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh, the guns of Brixton
How you going to come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun?
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh, the guns of Brixton
Waiting in death row
His game is called surviving
As in heaven, as in hell
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Writer
Paul Gustave Simonon
Duration
3:12
Producer
The Clash, Bill Price
Release date
May 11, 1979
Sentiment
Anger
Submitted by
aebassist On Jan 03, 2002
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
The Brixton riots in South London actually predates Guns of Brixton. From what I've read about this song, books and all, it captured the frustrations of the people of Brixton. Their anger at police brutality and oppression and the associated economic position that many black migrants into London at the time found themselves in. As has already been mentioned there are a lot of plays on words with the Ivan lyric!
Great band, vive le clash!
Nouvelle Vague (Whoever she is) did a brilliant, soft lounge-type cover of this song, great stuff. Personally one of my favorites, and yes this song has a great bassline.
I like Nouvelle Vague, and their cover of "Guns of Brixton" is pretty good. But, what really, really, really bugs me is that the singer mispronounces "Black Maria." Simonon pronounces it (of course...) correctly, so that it sounds the same as Mariah Carey. In the NV version, the singer pronounces it like Maria Bello. Ugh. Just so wrong and ruins their rendition.
I like Nouvelle Vague, and their cover of "Guns of Brixton" is pretty good. But, what really, really, really bugs me is that the singer mispronounces "Black Maria." Simonon pronounces it (of course...) correctly, so that it sounds the same as Mariah Carey. In the NV version, the singer pronounces it like Maria Bello. Ugh. Just so wrong and ruins their rendition.
Correct me if I’m wrong someone, but isn’t this song about yardie gangsters? For any non-Brits reading this, yardies are ruthless Jamaican gangsters, so called because they have a reputation for shooting people on their own doorsteps i.e. in the ‘yard’ of their homes. Most yardie gangs operate in or near Brixton in south London.
here they're saying we have to make a choice between letting oppression go on "With your hands on your head" or confronting it "on the trigger of your gun".
This song kicks ass. Simonon wrote it as a tune up and the others added in their own chords. Then Simonon said he had penned some words and tried to get Joe to sing them but he tried to get Paul to sing it, when he refused claiming he couldn't sing the band refused to play it unless he sang it and I'm pleased they did he does it perfectly. The Brixton riots were I'm pretty sure race riots just the blacks Vs cops which seemed pretty common back then.
Paul Siminon grew up in Brixton (part of the reason why The Clash were so influenced by reggae was their closeness to the black community). Anyway the place was full of gun violence and police oppression. It says when the police come for you, you can either give up and arrested, where you'll likely end up in death row, or you could confront the police where you'll likely end up being shot down, either way you can shortly die.
About personal connections with it, I live pretty close to the Philadelphia suburbs so any time the local news is on you're bound to be hit with stories about shootings and crime and awol cops; they just go down the list of unsafe neighborhoods where this is always happening. So this song always reminds me of that.
This song is so badass its ridiculous. Favorite Clash song easily
@SLMitchell ditto.
@SLMitchell ditto.
I don't think this is the straight anthem of resistance as it is generally seen. It is a double message. The main story is about the futility of the gangster life, which will end in violence one way or another. The Ivan character lives well on his criminal acts but the reckoning will come. In the end his only choice will be death or jail. There is no good option when an armed police team is at the door.
The chorus strikes a note of fighting the power. Maybe the connection is that just as the criminal will eventually meet his fate, the forces of oppression must eventually confront the rebellion they incite. Everyone gets the violence they deserve.
This song is one of The Clash's best.
ah, yes i agree. it is. oh yay for me my first post ;D