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"Know Your Rights" is a song by The Clash released as a single that was eventually released on their penultimate album, Combat Rock. The song was the first single off the album that was released, and it was a modest success, but it was not as successful as the album's major successes, "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go?".
The song begins with the words “This is a public service announcement...with guitars!” The structure of the song revolves around the rights held by the poor and disenfranchised, in which the speaker of the song, presumably a villainous civil servant (whose identity is assumed in the song by vocalist Joe Strummer), is only able to name three rights, which are all provisional anyway. At the end, the notion that more rights should be granted is rebuffed by the speaker.
The three are:
- The right to food money (provided you are willing to submit to harassment and humiliation).
- The right to free speech (as long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it).
This is one of the most overtly political songs by The Clash, and it remains reasonably popular.
[edit] Charts
[edit] References
- Gilbert, Pat [2004] (2005). Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash, 4th edition, London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
- Gray, Marcus [1995] (2005). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town, 5th revised edition, London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker [1997] (2003). A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz [2001] (2004). The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
- Needs, Kris (2005-01-25). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
- Topping, Keith [2003] (2004). The Complete Clash, 2nd edition, Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
