Dropkick Murphys - The Guns Of Brixton (The Clash Cover) video free download

From '' Anti-Heros vs Dropkick Murphys - Split ''

Label: TKO Records -- TKO Round 5

Format: 2 × Vinyl, 7"

Country: US

Released: 1997

Tracks

A Anti-Heros - Election Day (Live)

B Anti-Heros - Rich People Don't Go to Jail

C Dropkick Murphys - The Road of the Righteous

D Dropkick Murphys - The Guns of Brixton (The Clash Cover)

------------------------

"The Guns of Brixton" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash.

It was written and sung by bassist Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, south London.

The song has a strong reggae influence, reflecting the culture of the area, with a knowing nod to the classic reggae gangster film, The Harder They Come.

It was one of only two tracks written solely by Simonon to be released on a Clash album, the other being "The Crooked Beat" on Sandinista!.

Simonon also provides vocals on "Red Angel Dragnet" of the Combat Rock album.

Origins and recording

"The Guns of Brixton" was the first song recorded by the band to be composed by Paul Simonon and to feature him as lead vocalist. By London Calling, Paul Simonon had learned to play guitar, and started contributing more to the songwriting.

Lyrics and meaning

"The Guns of Brixton" pre-dates the race riots that took place in the 1980s in Brixton but the lyrics depict the feelings of discontent that were building due to heavy-handedness of the police that led to the riots, the recession and other problems at that time. Paul Simonon was originally doubtful about the song's lyrics, which discuss an individual's paranoid outlook on life, but was encouraged to continue working on it by Strummer.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by numerous bands over the years, including Arcade Fire, Unwritten Law, Dropkick Murphys, Rancid, Jeff Klein, The Bandits, Nouvelle Vague, Calexico, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Optimus Rhyme, My Red Hot Nightmare, German punk band Die Toten Hosen with and without Gentleman, Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, The Libertines, and the Italian singer Enrico Ruggeri.

In 1981, a German punk band named Soilent Grün used the melody of "The Guns of Brixton" for their song "Spitz wie Lumpi". The bass line was sampled for Beats International's 1990 hit "Dub Be Good to Me".

Sydney born band The Beautiful Girls released a cover version in 2003 entitled "Guns of Brixton / Dub Be Good to Me". Cypress Hill's 2004 hit "What's Your Number?" also sampled the bass line, as well as the guitar work, and featured Tim Armstrong of Rancid too.

In 2006, MC Chris used "The Guns of Brixton" as a beat on the song "Blastic", from the album Dungeon Master of Ceremonies. San Francisco Bay Area rappers, Zion I and The Grouch sampled "The Guns of Brixton" in "Trigger" off their 2006 album Heroes in the City of Dope.

In January 2007, NME reported that The Good, the Bad and the Queen, which features Simonon on bass, ended the first set of their UK tour (Trinity Hall, Bristol) in promotion of their debut album with this song (and Simonon on vocals).

Arcade Fire's acoustic version of the song was likely played for the first time during their 5 day mini-tour of London in early February 2007; it was also used to close their 4 night stint at Brixton Academy in March 2007. They also performed it on the BBC's Culture Show. French band, Misty Socks, also covered the song during their performances in 2007.

Polish street punk band The Analogs, Pidzama Porno on "Koncertówka 2. Drugi szczyt" and Kazik & Buldog played this song live since 2007 and with wind instruments on 2008 mini tour. Another polish punk band - Alians - created own version of this song with new lyrics. The title is "Bomby domowej roboty" ("Homemade bombs"). Santogold covered the song in 2008 for her Top Ranking mixtape with Diplo. The lyrics were changed from Brixton to Brooklyn. Maurits Westerik, singer of the rockband GEM, also covered the song in 2008 during his session for the Dutch music project OnderInvloed.com. The session was recorded in the old Catholic Willibrord Church in the centre of Utrecht. Westerik played a slower version of the song.

Julie Ruin's Kathleen Hanna sampled the song for her cover of "I Want to Know What Love Is". The Offspring added a cover of the song to their 2010 tour setlist including dates on The Unity Tour.

"The Guns of Brixton" was recorded by Die Toten Hosen for the single of "Freunde".

Later it was covered on the 2005 unplugged concert and released as the second single from the album Nur zu Besuch: Unplugged im Wiener Burgtheater.