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Sunday 8 September 2013

Oh Ma Corazon



Some kind soul has uploaded The Clash's 1979 song Spanish Bombs onto Youtube alongside newsreel footage from the Spanish Civil War. Their most folk-punk moment (English Civil war excepted maybe), this song is a sublime piece of Strummer-Jones songwriting and playing. It's all about the ratatattat drumming and the multi-tracked acoustic guitars and Joe's timeshifting lyrics- jumping back and forth between the days of '39, Federico Lorca dead and gone, and the ETA bombings of discos and casinos, all as imagined by Joe while flying in on a DC10 tonight. There's also a theory that in this song, during the chorus, Joe is bidding farewell to ex-girlfriend Paloma (Palmolive of the Slits).

7 comments:

Charity Chic said...

On hearing this my mother wanted to know why they were singing about Spanish bums!

Swiss Adam said...

Thanks for your donation Charity Chic.

Echorich said...

A piece of Clash brilliance! Toppers drums are amazing and the guitars are just amazing.
This video really bring back how UNROMANTIC war can be. Sorry Hemingway, but it might make you a man, but at what price?

Swiss Adam said...

Too right Echorich.

Echorich said...

Just re-read my comment above...obviously I had not finished my first cup of coffee this morning when writing...but really is there ever an occasion when too many "amazings" can be used to describe The Clash? Well, ok, pre Cut The Crap...

davyh said...

I'm hoping to drop-in on the pop-up tomorrow: will report back to the group.

Swiss Adam said...

I really want to go to the pop up. Looked at it online last night.