Straight to Hell (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Straight to Hell" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Clash | ||
| from the album Combat Rock | ||
| Released | September 17, 1982 | |
| Format | 7" single, cassette tape, 12" single | |
| Genre | Punk rock | |
| Length | 5:30 6:50 (Unedited Version) 3:57 (Edited Version) |
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| Label | CBS Records | |
| Writer(s) | Joe Strummer, Mick Jones | |
| Producer(s) | The Clash | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Clash singles chronology | ||
| "Rock The Casbah" (1982) |
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go" / "Straight to Hell" (1982) |
"This is England" (1985) |
Straight to Hell is a song by The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was released as a double 'A' side with "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" in September 1982.
The song is a typical Clash condemnation of the wrongs that they saw in the world as they wrote the song. The first verses are about the shutting down of steel mills in England and America, and the general war on the working peoples of those countries. The second verse concerns the abandonment of children in Vietnam who were fathered by American soldiers during the Vietnam War. The third verse is about their views of American Apathy due to "Junkiedom" and various entertainment (drugs, cars, amusement parks). The final verses consider the plight of immigrants new to America.
The song's lyrics refer heavily to what is labeled the "Amerasian Blues;" that is, the abandonment of children fathered by American soldiers stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. For example, some of the lyrics are taken to be the words of one such child presenting an absent American father with a photograph of him with "Momma-Momma-Momma-san." Due to this difficult subject material, as well as the slow, aching beat, the song is one of the most downbeat tracks in the Clash's history.
The song, whose full version lasted 7 minutes (which can be found solely on the Clash on Broadway box set), had a lingering violin background that distinguished it from most other Clash songs.
When Strummer sings "Volatile Molotov", it is a reference to the molotov cocktail which was used in the war.
