"So What?" is a song by British

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

Anti-Nowhere League Anti-Nowhere League are an English punk rock band, formed in 1979 by lead singer Animal (Nick Culmer), guitarist Magoo (Chris Exall), Bones (Tony Shaw) on drums and Chris Elvy on bass. Career Early days The band first played at the 1980 Cha ...

. It first appeared as the B-side of the band's debut 7" single " Streets of London", in 1981. It was added as a bonus track to '' We Are...The League''s re-release in 2001.

History and controversy

The song was written, according to the band, after sitting in a pub one night and hearing two men try to outdo each other with stories of past experiences. The song is therefore a retort to people who tell embellished stories to make themselves appear better than the person they are in conversation with. The obscene lyrical content of the song caused the British police to seize all copies of the single from the band's distributors under the

Obscene Publications Act Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by Lord ...

and remove all copies from sale. The word "fuck" appeared in the first line of the song and the word “cunt” is used four times throughout the song The song has subsequently been appended to various CD reissues of the ''We Are... The League'' album and has become an anthem for the band. Lyrics in the song include references to bestiality ("''I fucked a sheep/I fucked a goat...''") and acquiring

sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

("''I've had

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, I've had lice/I've had the clap...''").

Metallica cover

The song has been covered by Metallica and released as a B-side to the "

Sad but True Sadness is an emotional pain associated with, or characterized by, feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness, disappointment and sorrow (emotion), sorrow. An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic, and ...

" single and later included on the ''

Garage Inc. ''Garage Inc.'' is a compilation album of cover songs by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 24, 1998, through Elektra Records. It includes cover songs, B-side covers, and ''The $5.98 E.P. - Garage Days Re-Revisited'' ...

'' album; it is also a bonus track on the Asian version of '' Metallica''. "So What?" would go on to become an in-concert standard for the band. During the 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards, the band performed the song immediately after "

Last Caress "Last Caress" is a song by American punk rock band Misfits, first released on their 1980 EP '' Beware''. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was later included on the compilation album ''Collection II'', released in 1995, as well as on t ...

" instead of "

King Nothing "King Nothing" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their 1996 album '' Load,'' released on January 7, 1997. The song was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett. The song starts on a bass riff which develops ...

", which was taken from their then-new album '' Load''. Their entire performance was aired live and uncensored. Sum 41 often use the Metallica version as outro music played over the sound system at their concerts.

References

1981 songs Anti-Nowhere League songs Metallica songs {{punk-song-stub