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Tommy gun
You ain't happy less you got one
Tommy gun
Ain't gonna shoot the place up
Just for fun
Maybe he wants to die for the money
Maybe he wants to kill for his country
Whatever he wants, he's gonna get it!
Tommy gun
You better strip it down for a custom run
Tommy gun
Waiting in the airport 'till kingdom come
An' we can watch you make it
On the nine o'clock news
Standing there in Palestine lighting the fuse
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it
Tommy gun
You'll be dead when your war is won
Tommy gun
But did you have to gun down everyone?
I can see it's kill or be killed
A nation of destiny has got to be fulfilled
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it!
Tommy gun
You can be a hero in an age of none
Tommy gun
I'm cutting out your picture from page one
I'm gonna get a jacket just like yours
An' give my false support to your cause
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it!
Boats an' tanks and planes, it's your game
Kings an' queens an' generals learn your name
I see all the innocents, the human sacrifice
And if death comes so cheap
Then the same goes for life!
You ain't happy less you got one
Tommy gun
Ain't gonna shoot the place up
Just for fun
Maybe he wants to die for the money
Maybe he wants to kill for his country
Whatever he wants, he's gonna get it!
Tommy gun
You better strip it down for a custom run
Tommy gun
Waiting in the airport 'till kingdom come
An' we can watch you make it
On the nine o'clock news
Standing there in Palestine lighting the fuse
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it
Tommy gun
You'll be dead when your war is won
Tommy gun
But did you have to gun down everyone?
I can see it's kill or be killed
A nation of destiny has got to be fulfilled
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it!
Tommy gun
You can be a hero in an age of none
Tommy gun
I'm cutting out your picture from page one
I'm gonna get a jacket just like yours
An' give my false support to your cause
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it!
Boats an' tanks and planes, it's your game
Kings an' queens an' generals learn your name
I see all the innocents, the human sacrifice
And if death comes so cheap
Then the same goes for life!
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"Standing there in Palestine, lighting the fuse" -- that could easily be an Israeli soldier or militant attacking the Palestinians (especially since it seems like if Strummer wanted to make this anti-Palestine, he would've said "standing there in Israel" instead). "Did you have to gun everyone down, I can see it's kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be fulfilled" -- that could refer to Israel's reputation of using disproportional force, as well as the Zionist longing for the "promised land" AKA "nation of destiny that must be fulfilled."
The song overall seems like a general condemnation of terrorism in any form, whether related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or not. All I'm saying is that it seems highly unlikely that The Clash would take an anti-Palestine view, considering their politics. That's my two cents.
YOU CAN BE A HERO IN AN AGE OF NONE remind me of how Germany was in a widespread depression at the time Hitler rose up and took power, TOMMY GUN
I'M CUTTING OUT YOUR PICTURE FROM PAGE ONE
I'M GONNA GET A JACKET JUST LIKE YOURS AN' GIVE MY FALSE SUPPORT TO YOUR CAUSE
WHATEVER YOU WANT, YOU'RE GONNA GET IT! reminds me of all of the Germans who didn't want to support Hitler but were forced to under his regime, and the jacket part kinda reminds me of the Hitler Youth.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
In one instance in 1977, at a Love Music Hate Racism show, organized by the Anti-Nazi League, Joe Strummer wore a controversial t-shirt bearing the words "Brigate-Rosse" with the Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof) insignia in the middle. He later said in an interview that he wore the shirt not to support the left-wing terrorists factions in Germany and Italy, rather to bring attention to their existence. Still, he felt bad after the show, prompting him to write the song "Tommy Gun," renouncing violence as a means of protest.