July 1979 – July 1981. Two years of hell in the South African Infantry, thanks to PW Botha. National Service they called it....hmmm....I spent my time trying to undermine the system, spending about a year in the Namibian "operational area". My diaries from that era are not easy reading, but provide an insight into how I coped. If you think that at that time I was reading books like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Contact", "Space", "Wuthering Heights" and "The 1001 Nights of Jean Macaque", it's obvious how desperately I was trying to escape.
What I do know is that music was a big part of my coping mechanism. It helped me to escape the reality of where I was and what was going on around me. In those days before the Walkman, I had to beg and borrow portable tape recorders from my more affluent fellow-conscripts, and slink off into dark corners to listen to stuff on my own. No one appreciated my taste in music. After all, I was just a "Fokken Kommunis" and a "Kafferboetie" who listened to "Kaffermusiek".
Some of those memorable artists and groups were Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Marley and Tosh, The Selecter, The Specials, The Jam, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Madness, Blondie, The Sex Pistols, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, The Pretenders and two new bands called Echo & the Bunnymen and U2. One of them that really stood out there was The Clash. Waaaahh! I was absolutely absorbed in their mélange of reggae, rockabilly punk, funk, and even disco. During my last stint on the "Grens" I became one with what I believe was their masterpiece – "Sandiniasta!".
I now own 4 copies of "Sandiniasta!" – two on CD and two on vinyl (one of the latter never opened as I wanted to preserve it in pristine condition). For 36 tracks on 3 LP’s the band tackled everything in sight, including waltz, gospel, disco, children's ditties, pop, funk, reggae, dub, punk, delicate instrumentals, psychedelic explorations and rock. It blew me away and the lyrics...!! The lyrics!!! The lyrics!!!!
Soaked in the diesel of war boys war?
Blood, black gold and the face of a judge
Is the music calling for a river of blood?
Beat the drums tonight, Alphonso
Spread the news all over the grove
The big meeting has decided
That total war must burn on the grove
Does it mean I should take my machete
To chop my way through the path of life?
Does it mean I should run with the dog pack
Is that the way to be the one to survive?
(extract from "Corner Soul", Sandinista)
The "Sandiniasta!" track "The Call Up" (played in a funeral dirge) really struck a chord up at Mpacha in the Caprivi Strip towards the end of my two years:
It's up to you not to heed the call-up
'N' you must not act the way you were brought up
Who knows the reasons why you have grown up?
Who knows the plans or why they were drawn up?
It's up to you not to heed the call-up
I don't wanna die!
It's up to you not to heed the call-up
I don't wanna kill!
For he who will die
Is he who will kill
Maybe I wanna see the wheatfields
Over Kiev and down to the sea
All the young people down the ages
They gladly march off to die
Proud city fathers used to watch them
Tears in their eyes
There is a rose that I want to live for
Although, god knows, I may not have met her
There is a dance an' I should be with her
There is a town - unlike any other
It's up to you not to hear the call-up
'N' you must not act the way you were brought up
Who gives you work and why should you do it?
At fifty-five minutes past eleven
There is a rose...
Hup two, three, four...I love the marine corps..
Joe Strummer was a wordsmith of the highest calibre, and I can still repeat just about every word of every song.
So many armies can't free the earth
Soon the rock will roll over
Africa is choking on their Coca Cola
It's a one a way street in a one horse town
One way people starting to brag around
You can laugh, put them down
These one way people gonna blow us down
(extract from "Charlie Don't Surf", "Sandiniasta!")
For the last six months of my army days, and throug much of the seven years of my university career that followed, I carried a photocopy of the lyrics around with me. Sad but true! Actually, a few months ago back in South Africa I found my university work folder...and the lyrics were still there! It was a sad day for me when The Clash threw in the towel in the late 80’s.
Living in London in 1989-90, I was lucky enough to make it to a Joe Strummer concert with my mates Eduard and Mark Murray. Yeee-haa!!! He played a brace of old Clash songs and it was great to see the guru in action..."Earthquake Weather" was a good but undersold album. For me, Strummer then disappeared into obscurity for ten years...until 2000 when I caught him on Jools Holland’s TV show with his new group, The Mescaleros. The live set was OK, but didn’t really impress me at the time.
Fast-forward. Earlier this week I was killing time in the FNAC record store on the Champs Elysee in Paris. It was after midnight and I was aimlessly browsing...and then I heard it! The unmistakable voice, intonation and lyrics...yup...Joe Strummer was being piped through the store’s system, and it was new stuff that I did not know. It took me a while but I eventually found the CD: Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: "Global A Go-Go". Last night I played it for the first time...and then played it at least five times more, pouring over the full lyric sheet (a-la The Clash). Wow!! What brilliant stuff! The eclectic mix of musical styles is outstanding and the lyrics are as masterful as ever, reflecting the same concerns that have always inspired Strummer’s music. I got to bed close on 04h00 this morning...with a broad smile on my face.
Advice: get online, spend the US$ 13.99, get the album, settle down with a bottle of whisky and the lyric sheet...and enjoy!! One of the best albums I have listened to in years. Really.
Cheers, MAlfaRK © Saturday, January 19, 2002
P.S. No, I am not earning a commission from Hellcat Records!! ;-)
P.P.S. If you would like to read all of their lyrics, take a look at the excellent "The Clash Song Lyrics by Albums" page.
P.P.P.S. Tragically, Joe Strummer died of a heart attack on December 22, 2002, eleven months after this was written. I hope he got to read it...
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