I'm So Bored with the USA explained

I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.
Artist:The Clash
Album:The Clash
Released: (UK)
July 1979 (US)
Recorded:March 1977
Genre:Punk rock
Length:2:25
Label:CBS
Producer:Mikey Foote

"I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." is a song by British punk rock band the Clash, featured on their critically acclaimed 1977 debut album, which was released in the United States in July 1979 as their second album after Give 'Em Enough Rope. It was the album's third track in the original version and second in the US version.

Song information

The song was originally titled "I'm So Bored with You",[1] [2] a song written by Mick Jones. According to Keith Topping's book The Complete Clash, the song was about Jones's girlfriend at the time, the same woman who was the topic of "Deny".[3]

According to the story often told by the song's authors Joe Strummer and Jones, including on the documentary Westway to the World, the change came about by Strummer mishearing the song's title when Jones played it to him during their first meeting at their Davies Road squat. The band's early recordings, including the popular live bootleg 5 Go Mad at The Roundhouse, include the song in its original form. However, by the time of the concert on 20 September 1976 at the Roundhouse, Camden, the song was performed using its new title. The intro to the song is a variant on the intro to "Pretty Vacant" by the Sex Pistols.

Themes

Originally demoed with slightly different lyrics during the Clash's second demo session with their soundman Mickey Foote as producer, "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A."'s lyrics do exactly what its title suggests, condemning several aspects of the American society,[4] such as drug problems in the U.S. Army (particularly heroin), support of American government backed dictatorships in the Third World (a theme later repeated on the Sandinista! track "Washington Bullets"), and popular series Starsky and Hutch and Kojak. It also criticizes Richard Nixon, mentioning the Watergate scandal's tapes.

Personnel

Covers

References

Notes and References

  1. Letts Don. 2001 . . Documentary . Sony Music Entertainment
    Dorismo; Uptown Films
    . New York, NY . 13:40–14:46 . 0-7389-0082-6 . 49798077 .
  2. Caws . Matthew . Matthew Caws . December 1995 . Mick Jones . Guitar World . 12 . Harris Publications . New York . 1045-6295 . 7982091 . Actually, "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." was "I'm So Bored with You" until Joe added the "S" and the "A." .
    Related news articles:
    • Web site: Guitar World December 1995 . 2007-12-06 . londonsburning.org . https://web.archive.org/web/20081012015038/http://londonsburning.org/art_guitar_world_12_95.html . 12 October 2008 . dead .
  3. Book: Topping , Keith . Keith Topping . The Complete Clash . 2003 . 2nd . 2004 . Reynolds & Hearn . Richmond . 1-903111-70-6 . 63129186 .
  4. Web site: Obituary: Joe Strummer . 2007-12-06 . Colson . Nicole . 2003-01-03 . SHTML . SOCIALISTWORKER.org . 9 . Strummer's lyrics blended well with guitarist Mick Jones' arrangements, and he steered the band toward a more overtly political message--as when he convinced Jones to change the song "I'm So Bored With You" (about Jones' girlfriend) to "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.," a scorching rant against US imperialism and arrogance. . https://web.archive.org/web/20080905012655/http://socialistworker.org/2003-1/434/434_09_StrummerObit.shtml . 5 September 2008 . dead .
  5. News: Coplan . Chris . Arcade Fire covers The Clash's "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." . . 6 December 2013. 13 May 2018.

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