This Is England (song)

"This Is England" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in September 1985[1] from their sixth, final, and critically maligned studio album Cut the Crap. Produced by Bernard Rhodes and co-written by Strummer and Rhodes, it was the band's last single, in their later incarnation of Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Nick Sheppard, Pete Howard and Vince White.

"This Is England"
Single by The Clash
from the album Cut the Crap
B-side"Do It Now"/"Sex Mad Roar"
Released30 September 1985
Format7" vinyl, 12" vinyl
Recorded1985
Length3:51
LabelCBS A 6122
Songwriter(s)Joe Strummer, Bernard Rhodes
Producer(s)'Jose Unidos'
The Clash singles chronology
"Straight to Hell"
(1982)		 "This Is England"
(1985)		 ""London Calling" (re-release)"
(1988)

Lyrics and meaning

Written in late 1983, the song is about the state of England at the time.[2] "This Is England" comprises a list of the problems in England during the early years of the Thatcher administration, addressing inner-city violence, urban alienation, life on council estates, high unemployment rate, England's dying motorcycle industry, racism, nationalism, and police corruption—as well as two very common subject matters for mid-1980s left-wing songwriters: the Falklands War; and the consumerist, subservient mind-set of many English people at the time.[3] The song begins with the squeaky voice of a market hawker shouting, "four for a pound your face flannels; three for a pound your tea towels!" It is unclear whether it is the voice of a child or of an adult that has been speeded up to raise its pitch.

Reception and release

Unlike the album, which continues to receive criticism and in some cases ridicule, "This Is England" is often praised. However, Strummer described it as his "last great Clash song".[4]

The single was released on 7-inch vinyl, backed with "Do It Now", and in a 12" vinyl format with a different cover and an additional track on side two, titled "Sex Mad Roar".

Initially, attempts were made by the Clash and others to ignore the final incarnation of the band. "This Is England" is not included on The Singles; the band's discography ends with "Should I Stay or Should I Go"/"Straight to Hell" in Clash on Broadway and Don Letts' 2000 documentary about the band, Westway to the World, totally ignores the whole period, giving the impression that the Clash broke up when Mick Jones left the group. This changed with the release of The Essential Clash in 2003, which included "This Is England" as its final track, making it the first compilation to include a song from the period.

In 2006, the single was fully re-released on CD as disc 19 in Singles Box, accompanied by a faithful re-creation of the single's original artwork and the extra track "Sex Mad Roar" from the original 12" pressing. The single also appears on the 2007 collection The Singles.

Personnel

Charts
Chart Peak
position		 Date
UK Singles Chart[5] 24 October 1985
Irish Singles Chart[6] 13 October 1985

References
  1. "Are You Red..y" was released as a single in Australia
  2. "songmeanings.net comments". songmeanings.net. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  3. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=30553
  4. Spencer, Neil; Brown, James. "Why the Clash are still Rock Titans". The Guardian, 29 October 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2019
  5. "everyHit.com database". everyHit.com. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  6. "Artist: The Clash". Irishcharts.ie. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.