"Death or Glory" is a song by the English punk rock band

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

featured on their 1979 album ''

London Calling ''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. The C ...

''. The song was written by

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

and Mick Jones and features Strummer on lead vocals. The song was written about the previous generation of rock stars who swore that they would die before growing old. French rock critic

Philippe Manoeuvre Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count o ...

called it a "parody of

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

". "Death or Glory" was covered by the American punk rock band

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

on the ''Lords of Dogtown'' soundtrack. Dave Smalley also covered the song for the 1999 album ''

City Rockers City Rockers is a British independent record label. Their current signed artists include The Sunshine Underground, The Ghost Frequency and The Blood Arm. Past releases on the label came from bands such as FC Kahuna, The Rakes, Felix Da Houseca ...

'', a tribute to the Clash. "Death or Glory" is also part of the soundtrack of the video game, ''

Skate It ''Skate It'' is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Montreal, Exient Entertainment and EA Black Box for the Nintendo DS, Wii, and iOS. The game is a spin-off of 2007's ''Skate'' and was released in 2008. Overview ''Skate It'' is set betwe ...

'' and ''

Skate 2 ''Skate 2'' is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title ''Skate It''. It is the sequel to 2007's ...

''.

Background

originally worked out the tune for "Death or Glory" on the piano. He took inspiration from " As Time Goes By", a song featured in the film ''

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

'' that Strummer expressed his fondness for to director David Mingay during the filming of ''

Rude Boy Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...

''. While the band was recording "Death or Glory", their producer

Guy Stevens Guy Stevens (13 April 1943 – 28 August 1981) was a British music industry figure whose roles included DJ, record producer, and band manager. He was influential in promoting R&B music in Britain in the 1960s, gave the rock bands Procol Har ...

came into the studio and started throwing chairs around at the back wall in front of CBS record executives.

Critical reception

Rick Anderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the song "features the best and most satisfying chord progression and melody the Clash ever came up with". Bill Wyman of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' ranked "Death or Glory" as the seventh best Clash song, calling it "one of the band's most raw and emotional performances".

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Mick Jones – backing vocals, lead guitar *

Paul Simonon Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz alb ...

– bass guitar *

Topper Headon Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

– drums

References

Songs written by Mick Jones (The Clash) Songs written by Joe Strummer The Clash songs 1979 songs Song recordings produced by Guy Stevens {{1970s-rock-song-stub