Claw (song)

Claw is a song by British metal band Motörhead from their 1986 album Orgasmatron.

Structure

The song starts out with a mini-drum solo by drummer Pete Gill (a common intro to Motörhead songs specifically from Orgasmatron) before the drums are joined by the other instruments and the backing vocals (which are also recorded in the specific heavy metal style of the album). The song carries on as a fairly normal Motörhead song, with two verses and choruses followed by a guitar solo by Phil Campbell, until the end of the last verse. At the end of the last verse, bassist/vocalist Lemmy starts to repeat the word "the claw" over and over again - just as he does for the first two verses. However, after the first four times he says the words, his vocals (which have been steadily growing intense throughout the song) turn into a high-pitched Rob Halford-like scream. Such vocals are very rare in Motörhead songs, making the song unique. The only other Motörhead song to feature similar vocals is the song "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch", from the Ace of Spades album. Lemmy repeats the title several times in the high-pitched vocals, while Würzel plays backing guitar solo. After that, the song suddenly quiets down and shifts to the outro. For the last few seconds of the song, the guitars and bass are absent, and only the drums and vocals can be heard as Lemmy repeats the words "You know just what the claw is for" several times, each time more quietly. For the last line, he says, "I know just what my claw is for".

Lyrics

The song's lyrics appear to be about the singer finding a woman he knows in a bar (2nd line "I was hoping you'd be here tonight") and then noticing that another man (not particularly an enemy, simply competition for the woman in question) has been eying her and, later in the song, makes a move on her, although this falls through seeing as the singer states "He(the man) thinks you're gonna keep your promise babe". The singer seems to have a reputation of getting casual sex from this woman, and after approaching her (3rd verse 1st line "Me walkin' up to you, and whisper in your eager ear") they go off to do the (as it's called in the song) "Horizontal dance". "The Claw" is likely the singer's favorite organ.

Alternate versions

On the original release of Orgasmatron, only one version of "Claw" appeared. However, when the album was remastered with added bonus tracks, an alternate version was included as well.

Personnel

• Phil Campbell - guitar
• Würzel - guitar
• Lemmy - bass, vocals
• Pete Gill - drums