Spanish Bombs
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| “Spanish Bombs” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by The Clash | ||
| Album | London Calling | |
| Released | 14 December 1979 | |
| Recorded | August-September 1979, November 1979 at Wessex Studios | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:18 | |
| Label | CBS | |
| Writer | Joe Strummer, Mick Jones | |
| Producer | Guy Stevens | |
"Spanish Bombs" is a song by The Clash, sung by Joe Strummer, and featured on their 1979 double album, London Calling. The song is about the Spanish Civil War and was written during one of their travelling from Wessex Studios to home when Joe Strummer was talking with Gaby Salter about ETA, an armed Basque nationalist separatist organization founded in 1959 in Spain.[1][2][3]
The song appears on the Clash compilation albums The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (1988) and Clash on Broadway (1991).
It has been covered by the German rock musician and singer Rio Reiser, by the ska, rock, punk Mexican band Tijuana No! and performed live by their co-founder, lead singer and songwriter Ceci Bastida.[4]
[edit] References to the Spanish Civil War
"Spanish Bombs" praises the heroism of Republicans – who ranged from centrists to revolutionary anarchists and communists – in the Spanish Civil War, a major conflict that devastated Spain from July 17, 1936 to April 1, 1939 and ended in the victory of the Nationalists, who under the leadership of dictator Francisco Franco ruled Spain with an iron fist for the next 36 years.[2][5] Many locations and people associated with the Spanish Civil War are mentioned in the song lyrics. Andalucia was one of the first regions of Spain to be overtaken by the military rebels in 1936. Federico García Lorca, (referred to in the song as Federico Lorca), was a poet from Andalucia who was killed during the rebellion. The Guardia Civil (or "Civil Guard") is a military police force under the control of both the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense of Spain. The line "They sang The Red Flag, they wore the black one" contains references to both the red flag as a symbol of socialism and the socialist anthem The Red Flag, as well as the black flag of the anarchists. The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), the Anarcho-syndicalist labor union, also flew the red and black flag of anarchist-communism.
[edit] Notes
- ^ London Calling. theclash.org.uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-11. “'Spanish Bombs' was written as a result of travelling home from Wessex Studios late one evening, Strummer and Gaby Salter were talking about the Basque separatists in Spain who were engaged in a bombing campaign against various holiday resorts on the Costa Del Sol.”
- ^ a b Dimery, Robert (1999). Collins Gem Classic Albums. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0004724852. OCLC 43582584. “..."Spanish Bombs" praises the heroism of republicans in the Spanish Civil War.”
Related news articles:- The Clash - London Calling. Super Seventies. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
- ^ The Clash. Artist History. Aversion.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-20. “"Spanish Bomb’s" classical guitar”
- ^ Los Angeles Loves... Ceci Bastida. la-underground.net (2007-09-05). Retrieved on 2008-01-15. “And for the first show of her residency at the Knitting Factory last night she pulled out a cover of The Clash's "Spanish Bombs", a long-time favorite for Tijuana No! fans and English-speaking attendees (basically us), in general.”
- ^ Franco and the Spanish Civil War. New Forum (2002). Retrieved on 2008-01-06. “The punk band The Clash recorded "Spanish Bombs" in 1979, a song commemorating the Spanish Civil War.”
[edit] References
- Gilbert, Pat [2004] (2005). Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash, 4th edition, London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
- Gray, Marcus [1995] (2005). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town, 5th revised edition, London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker [1997] (2003). A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz [2001] (2004). The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
- Needs, Kris (2005-01-25). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
- Topping, Keith [2003] (2004). The Complete Clash, 2nd edition, Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
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