Gun Song Top Ten: The Guns of Brixton (#7)

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This morning I counted, and I see that half of the songs on this countdown of favorites with “gun” in the title are Hall of Famers. Considering the Country Music Hall of Fame just inducted Ray Charles, I guess I should emphasize the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Anyway, today’s band with the “gun” song is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame….and here they are! #7: The Guns of Brixton - The Clash I’m surprised that some of the militant militia people haven’t adopted this as their theme song. It does start with a pointed question that, unfortunately, shouldn’t be just on the mind of the survivalists: When they kick at your front door How you gonna come? With your hands on your head Or on the trigger of your gun? Given what’s going on in Kabul right now and the over-extension of government powers (I’ll do a discussion about the “Hotel California” at the Land Between the Lakes later as an example), it’s a fair question. But this isn’t a current song. (If it were I wouldn’t know it. ) This song goes back to 1979, which shows you that societal unrest is absolutely nothing new. In fact, this song, the first written by bassist Paul Simonon for the band, was inspired by a “gangsta hood” film from 1972. The movie in question is the reggae classic The Harder They Come, which starred Jimmy Cliff and brought reggae to the big screen internationally. The song references the movie (“His game is called survivin’ at the end of The Harder They Come”). The Clash got their name because they said one of the words continually seen in headlines during the 70s was clash, as in “Police clash with protestors.” Nothing has changed. The Guns of Brixton Written by Paul Simonon Recorded by the Clash From London Calling, 1979 You know it means no mercy: