“Spanish Bombs” by The Clash

Here’s an interesting fact – Spain actually endured a very bloody civil war at the end of the 1930s. And Clash singer Joe Strummer became fascinated with the topic upon concurrently taking an interest in civil strife within the country that was transpiring around the time of this track’s release. 

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for The Clash's Spanish Bombs at Lyrics.org.

And in making an attempt to correlate the two eras, the lyrics perform quite a bit of time traveling and even globetrotting. For instance, in the first verse he mentions “Spanish bombs on the Costa Rica”. And it wouldn’t be completely out of order to postulate that in doing so he is also making a connection between Spain and the civil unrest which was transpiring in its former Central American colonies at the time.

Indeed at the end of day, what The Clash appear to be speaking to is an idea like mass bloodshed, or perhaps we can say terrorism, in general. That would be why for instance, being from the UK, the band seems to make a reference to the Irish Republic Army, i.e. the local terrorists to England. 

And by the way, the aspirations of the IRA were similar to that of the Euskadi ta Askatasuna, aka ETA, i.e. the party that was committing the bombings in Spain at the time. It would also seem that as the ETA makes him think about the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Civil War likewise takes Strummer’s mind back to the days of Spanish colonialism, as in all three of those eras “Spanish bombs” were/are being dropped. 

So if we may be allowed to go a bit out on a limb, the further postulation would be that he’s saying they’re all connected somehow.  Or if nothing else that Spain has a bloody history, as implied by the chorus.

Lastly, there’s also a musical subtheme running throughout the song, which is made most evident during the outro and as implied by the title.  And what it seems the vocalist is doing is recognizing the musicians and other artists in general who were tasked with chronicling, most notably, the Spanish Civil War, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

So in terms of trying to derive a thesis sentiment from all of this, it would appear that The Clash are sympathetic to the people who were involved in all of the aforementioned events.

Lyrics for "Spanish Bombs"
Summary

The lyrics of The Clash’s “Spanish Bombs” were inspired by the terrorist activities of Basque separatists. These separatists plotted and carried out a number of bombings that targeted tourist spots in Spain’s famous Costa del Sol.

The Basque Separatists and their Bombing Campaign

The bombing campaign by terrorists in Spain was backed by the motives of forcefully driving tourists away from Spain’s Mediterranean beaches. Tourism was Spain’s most lucrative industry at the time. A recorded number of 38.2 million tourists visited Spain by May 1979 with 15 million more by August, earning the country over $5 billion in revenue. The campaign was organized by Basque Separatist Organization E.T.A.

Bombs were planted in most of Costa Del Sol’s largest hotels and resorts around areas like Torremolinos and Fuengirola. Two bombs exploded at Las Palmeras, a grand tourist hotel, damaging the structure though no one was found injured.

Within a week of this campaign, over a dozen explosions had taken place. Aside from the bombs that were being set off, members of government such as the parliamentary spokesperson and a Congressman man were attacked and shot.

On other accounts, the E.T.A demanded that the hundred terrorist suspects that had been apprehended be released with the threat of planting more bombs in the country.

The bombing affected the tourist industry drastically. The number of tourists that visited the country reduced to its minimum, threatening the stability of Spain’s economy.

Who wrote “Spanish Bombs”?

The co-founder of Punk Rock band – Joe Strummer and the founder of Big Audio Dynamite wrote this song. The song was recorded at Wessex Studios. Guy Stevens, an influential promoter of R&B music in Britain produced the song.

Release Date

“London Calling” is the album in which “Spanish Bombs” appears. Three tracks were released as singles from it. However, “Spanish Bombs” which was released on 14th December, 1979 was not one of these singles.  

"Spanish Bombs"

“London Calling” (The Album on which “Spanish Bombs” appears)

London Calling is The Clash’s third studio album. Originally released in the UK as a double album in December 1979, it was released by Epic Records in the United States in January 1980 and produced by Guy Stevens.

The album reflected chaotic themes such as unemployment, drug use, racial conflicts as well as adulthood responsibilities while showcasing the band’s interests in a wider range of genres.

It sold more than five million copies globally and received platinum certification in the US. It earned a reputation for being one of the world’s greatest albums, landing the number 8 spot on Rolling Stone’s 2003 and 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Most of the lyrics were written by Joe Strummer, while Mick Jones composed and arrange the music. The recording took place from August and November 1979, with rehearsals held at the Vanilla Studios, and the actual recording at Wessex Studios.

The album’s title track was inspired by the 1979 nuclear reactor accident at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island. The front cover which features a photo of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his guitar was named the best rock and roll photograph by Q magazine in 2002.

In 2004, the band released a 25th-anniversary edition of “London Calling” with a bonus CD and DVD.

Official Singles

Below are the album’s official singles:

2 Responses

  1. Morgan nic Iomhair says:

    Perhaps the reference to Ireland pertains to the many Irish people who went to Spain to fight the Facists

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...