The Clash were making a point about how wasteful it is to put people in jail for a non-violent crime like drugs for 15 years or more. Some of the people convicted could be out contributing to society ('coulda been a physicist') but they're loicked up in prison for 'a mighty long time'. To put it mildly, they thought the laws were too harsh and that the government was wasting resources. I'm fairly certain I read that in the liner notes of a compilation CD.
I get the sense from lines like 'till the cells were all full' and the 82 business that they were also saying that the government was trying to make itself look effiecient and useful by 'cleaning up' the drug problem whereas a group like the Clash with such a strident political agenda would have thought the government should be working on changing the distribution of wealth, as well as fighting racism, instead. That much is speculation on my part, though.
The Clash were making a point about how wasteful it is to put people in jail for a non-violent crime like drugs for 15 years or more. Some of the people convicted could be out contributing to society ('coulda been a physicist') but they're loicked up in prison for 'a mighty long time'. To put it mildly, they thought the laws were too harsh and that the government was wasting resources. I'm fairly certain I read that in the liner notes of a compilation CD.
I get the sense from lines like 'till the cells were all full' and the 82 business that they were also saying that the government was trying to make itself look effiecient and useful by 'cleaning up' the drug problem whereas a group like the Clash with such a strident political agenda would have thought the government should be working on changing the distribution of wealth, as well as fighting racism, instead. That much is speculation on my part, though.