If Music Could Talk

Whenever I hear this awesome Joe Strummer track I always think of the Ukraine war news...

He had the wooly scarf of Shaktar Donetsk
Nay, the banner of freedom wrung around his neck
Inherited from his father
One of the Ukraine exiles of Yugoslavia
He said, "You'll get there in the end."
If you really wanna go - alive or dead my friend
Well, you can levitate you know - long as the money's good you're in
Or if you really wanna go - you'll get there in the end

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63209183

Equaliser wrote: ↑

11 Oct 2022, 7:30am

Whenever I hear this awesome Joe Strummer track I always think of the Ukraine war news...

He had the wooly scarf of Shaktar Donetsk
Nay, the banner of freedom wrung around his neck
Inherited from his father
One of the Ukraine exiles of Yugoslavia
He said, "You'll get there in the end."
If you really wanna go - alive or dead my friend
Well, you can levitate you know - long as the money's good you're in
Or if you really wanna go - you'll get there in the end

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63209183

It's an awesome track, one of Joe's very best imho, the sheer humanity in it is poignant and heart warming.

My favourite Mescaleros song, I think it is brilliant.

laxman wrote: ↑

11 Oct 2022, 2:26pm

My favourite Mescaleros song, I think it is brilliant.

Agreed. It took me a long time to get into Joe's solo work and the Mescaleros, but this song always stood out to me from the beginning.

Fantastic track.

One of the things I love about Joe Strummer's often dense and cryptic lyrics is that you can chew on his songs for years until one day you have an epiphany and you suddenly get it. This song took me 20 years to understand! I don't know anything about European Football so I didn't know about this team, and until Russia invaded the Ukraine I never knew about the city of Donetsk. Damn, I miss this guy.

Equaliser wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 11:37am

One of the things I love about Joe Strummer's often dense and cryptic lyrics is that you can chew on his songs for years until one day you have an epiphany and you suddenly get it. This song took me 20 years to understand! I don't know anything about European Football so I didn't know about this team, and until Russia invaded the Ukraine I never knew about the city of Donetsk. Damn, I miss this guy.

Haha! That's great.

I love the "two bar heater" line on the live recordings. Them twin tower vandal eye is a great line too.

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:43pm

I love the "two bar heater" line on the live recordings. Them twin tower vandal eye is a great line too.

I always thought it was “Them twin towers vandalised” but now I am not so sure.

laxman wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:53pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:43pm

I love the "two bar heater" line on the live recordings. Them twin tower vandal eye is a great line too.

I always thought it was “Them twin towers vandalised” but now I am not so sure.

You could well be right there. Can't remember if there are lyrics with the album but i always assumed vandal eye for some reason, though i couldn't say what is meant by it. Vandalised would make sense in the context of the stadium demolition though that didn't happen until 2 years after the song was written.

I remember when I started getting into soccerball (round) and all of a sudden this song clicked. Good times. Slightly less good times to listen to at the moment and be reminded of current events, alas. But still a brilliant, moody work of Joe's. One of his final masterpieces, I believe.

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:05pm

laxman wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:53pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:43pm

I love the "two bar heater" line on the live recordings. Them twin tower vandal eye is a great line too.

I always thought it was “Them twin towers vandalised” but now I am not so sure.

You could well be right there. Can't remember if there are lyrics with the album but i always assumed vandal eye for some reason, though i couldn't say what is meant by it. Vandalised would make sense in the context of the stadium demolition though that didn't happen until 2 years after the song was written.

My take is different to both "Vandal eye" - Low down low and "Vandalised" - Laxman.

I think it's a play by Joe on there being the Wembley twin towers and the attack of 9/11. With people looking at foreigners as terrorists.


Them twin tower vandal-aye

Aye as in the scottish way of saying "yes".

Marky Dread wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:37pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:05pm

laxman wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:53pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:43pm

I love the "two bar heater" line on the live recordings. Them twin tower vandal eye is a great line too.

I always thought it was “Them twin towers vandalised” but now I am not so sure.

You could well be right there. Can't remember if there are lyrics with the album but i always assumed vandal eye for some reason, though i couldn't say what is meant by it. Vandalised would make sense in the context of the stadium demolition though that didn't happen until 2 years after the song was written.

My take is different to both "Vandal eye" - Low down low and "Vandalised" - Laxman.

I think it's a play by Joe on there being the Wembley twin towers and the attack of 9/11. With people looking at foreigners as terrorists.


Them twin tower vandal-aye

Aye as in the scottish way of saying "yes".

Never copped the ny twin towers connection but that's definitely possible too, though again i think the song pre dates the terror attack. "Vandal aye" is intriguing, i wouldn't rule anything out tbh.

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

15 Oct 2022, 8:14am

Marky Dread wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:37pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:05pm

laxman wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:53pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:43pm

I love the "two bar heater" line on the live recordings. Them twin tower vandal eye is a great line too.

I always thought it was “Them twin towers vandalised” but now I am not so sure.

You could well be right there. Can't remember if there are lyrics with the album but i always assumed vandal eye for some reason, though i couldn't say what is meant by it. Vandalised would make sense in the context of the stadium demolition though that didn't happen until 2 years after the song was written.

My take is different to both "Vandal eye" - Low down low and "Vandalised" - Laxman.

I think it's a play by Joe on there being the Wembley twin towers and the attack of 9/11. With people looking at foreigners as terrorists.


Them twin tower vandal-aye

Aye as in the scottish way of saying "yes".

Never copped the ny twin towers connection but that's definitely possible too, though again i think the song pre dates the terror attack. "Vandal aye" is intriguing, i wouldn't rule anything out tbh.

Forget my stupid theory. I don't think Joe wouldve mentioned it pre the attack.

I was just thinking how Joe liked to juxtapose ideas in his lyrics. But my theory doesn't make sense.

I even checked to see if there was any significance to the 1925 F.A. Cup final re the postcard in the lyrics but found nothing.

Marky Dread wrote: ↑

15 Oct 2022, 8:43am

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

15 Oct 2022, 8:14am

Marky Dread wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:37pm

Low Down Low wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 5:05pm

laxman wrote: ↑

14 Oct 2022, 1:53pm

I always thought it was “Them twin towers vandalised” but now I am not so sure.

You could well be right there. Can't remember if there are lyrics with the album but i always assumed vandal eye for some reason, though i couldn't say what is meant by it. Vandalised would make sense in the context of the stadium demolition though that didn't happen until 2 years after the song was written.

My take is different to both "Vandal eye" - Low down low and "Vandalised" - Laxman.

I think it's a play by Joe on there being the Wembley twin towers and the attack of 9/11. With people looking at foreigners as terrorists.


Them twin tower vandal-aye

Aye as in the scottish way of saying "yes".

Never copped the ny twin towers connection but that's definitely possible too, though again i think the song pre dates the terror attack. "Vandal aye" is intriguing, i wouldn't rule anything out tbh.

Forget my stupid theory. I don't think Joe wouldve mentioned it pre the attack.

I was just thinking how Joe liked to juxtapose ideas in his lyrics. But my theory doesn't make sense.

I even checked to see if there was any significance to the 1925 F.A. Cup final re the postcard in the lyrics but found nothing.

Remember the Acton show where Joe introduces Tony Adams as a song about "a catastrophe hitting New York." When i first heard it, I thought it was Joe being a bit tongue in cheek, but the lyrics actually do fit rather well when you think about it. Not that i believe he's clairvoyant in any way, just a bit of a spooky coincidence is all.

I think the 1925 is simply an historical reference to when the first red phone box was introduced but beyond that, I'm stumped by what he's trying to get at there. I still really like the line whatever it is.