The Clash formed in June 1976 and wasted no time making noise, joining others like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. But The Clash took a different approach, explicitly targeting police violence, racial injustice, and working-class struggle.
The band consisted of Joe Strummer on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mick Jones on lead guitar and vocals, Paul Simonon on bass, and Topper Headon on drums.
Their debut single, “White Riot,” was released on March 18, 1977, and took aim at police brutality and racial tensions in the UK. Three weeks later, on April 8, their self-titled debut album arrived with 14 songs delivering 35 minutes of pure fury. “White Riot,” “Career Opportunities,” and “London’s Burning” became instant punk hits, establishing the band as one of the genre’s most politically charged voices.
By 1978, The Clash released Give ‘Em Enough Rope, followed by London Calling in 1979, an album that would break them into the American mainstream. Then came Sandinista! in 1980. Singer Ellen Foley, who was Jones’s girlfriend at the time, appeared on the album singing on “Hitsville UK.” Foley was known for her duet on Meat Loaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” from Bat Out of Hell.
I gotta know right now
Jones’s relationship with Foley ended in 1981, coinciding with when the band began work on what would become Combat Rock. They initially recorded at Ear Studios in London before moving to Electric Lady Studios in New York in early 1982. The song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” on Combat Rock was written by Jones and is widely believed to have been inspired by his on-and-off relationship with Foley.
“That’s the story. I’m neither here to deny nor confirm because I never asked him. Everybody else talks about it, oh ‘That song is about you.’ Yeah, it’s fun to hear. It’s fun to hear anything you’re involved with on the radio. It’s so cool, and it always will be.” said Foley.
Though often speculated to reflect tension within the band or Jones’s personal relationships, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” is “just a good rockin’ song.” Jones said, “It wasn’t about anybody specific, and it wasn’t pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rockin’ song, our attempt at writing a classic… When we were just playing, that was the kind of thing we used to like to play.”
The Clash released Combat Rock on May 14, 1982, by which time they had already cemented their place as one of punk rock’s most influential groups. The song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” was released as a single shortly after, but made little impact initially. Most of the attention went to “Rock the Casbah,” which became the band’s biggest American hit, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Reviews of Combat Rock were mixed.
“Gone is the musical blend of anger, politics, and punk rock on which the band built its reputation. Their anger is still hot, but the music is cold,” said reviewer Bill Zaferos. “Only in ‘Rock the Casbah,’ ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ and ‘Car Jamming’ is there any vague resemblance to The Clash which deservedly was billed ‘the only band that matters,’ with the release of the London Calling album.”
“At the same time, Combat Rock is stirring, inspirational rock & roll, arranged with good pop sense and shot through in concentrated doses with the imagination and vigor that were spread throughout Sandinista! If the words don’t carry you, then the manic dance fever of ‘Overpowered by Funk’ (a rap by graffiti artist Futura 2000) and Mick Jones’ strident punch-up, ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ (a guitar-driven raver à la ‘Train in Vain’) certainly will,” said a Rolling Stone review of the album.
Another review noted, “The Clash’s most subdued record. The guitar sound is as muddy as the Mississippi River. The background vocals are sung in Spanish on ‘Should I Stay.’ The lyrics are more beat-period, free association than punk directness.”
“And Jones’ ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ is a traditional love song, set to more or less traditional British rock music. It sounds a lot like the Stones’ ‘Start Me Up’, built on the same kind of snaky guitar riff. For the Clash, a ‘relationship’ song like this isn’t wholly unprecedented — London Calling had ‘Train in Vain,’ which this new one resembles a little, and Sandinista! had ‘Street Parade’ — but it is rare,” wrote another review.
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 but gained renewed popularity in early 1991 after being featured in a Levi’s jeans commercial in the U.K. This led to its re-release in 1991, when it topped the UK charts and reached the top 10 in several European countries.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash at number 228 on the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.
Despite their success, the relentless touring and recording schedule was grinding them down. The real issues ran deeper as Jones and Strummer clashed over the band’s direction. Jones wanted to take a break and pursue more commercial sounds, while Strummer wanted to keep touring and stay true to punk’s political roots. When Headon’s heroin addiction became uncontrollable, he was fired in May 1982. Simonon was caught between his feuding bandmates, and by September 1983, the conflict reached its breaking point. Jones was fired, and The Clash as the world knew them was essentially over.
Lyrically: Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Darling, you got to let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I’ll be here till the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
The song opens with the central question and seeks a definitive answer. These lyrics ask for an understanding of the relationship’s status while emphasizing a need for clarity.
The follow-up lyrics, “If you say that you are mine, I’ll be here till the end of time,” suggest a willingness to commit, but only if reciprocated. The repetition of “So you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go” brings an urgency for direction.
It’s always tease, tease, tease
You’re happy when I’m on my knees
One day it’s fine, and next it’s black
These lyrics depict a relationship marked by uncertainty and imbalance and suggest one person holds control, while the other is desperate and almost begging. One day the relationship is fine, then it goes dark.
So if you want me off your back
Well, come on and let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
“So if you want me off your back, well, come on and let me know” emphasizes the desire for an answer, followed by a plea to ease the continued uncertainty. What is the next move?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay, it will be double
So come on and let me know
These lyrics reveal frustration upon realizing that the relationship is a no-win situation, suggesting things won’t be easy and will likely lead to conflict. Yet staying in the relationship will only multiply the emotional toll. The repeated plea demands a decision to ease the tension.
The inclusion of Spanish lyrics in the song was a spontaneous idea by Strummer. He recalled, “On the spur of the moment, I said, ‘I’m going to do the backing vocals in Spanish’… We needed a translator, so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone, and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it’s Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Ely are singing on the backing vocals.”
This indecision’s bugging me (Esta indecisión me molesta)
If you don’t want me, set me free (Si no me quieres, librarme)
Exactly whom I’m supposed to be (Dígame que tengo ser)
Don’t you know which clothes even fit me? (Sabes que ropa me “quedá”?)
Come on and let me know (Me tienes que decir)
Should I cool it, or should I blow? (Me debo ir o quedarme?)
Split
These lyrics convey ongoing frustration with the relationship. “This indecision’s bugging me” shows the lack of clarity has now become a mental strain, while “If you don’t want me, set me free” captures a feeling of being trapped in indecision.
The line “Exactly whom I’m supposed to be” suggests there has been a loss of identity, and that a basic understanding of knowing the person and their finer details is missing, evident in the lyrics “Don’t you know which clothes even fit me?”
“Should I cool it, or should I blow?” expresses the conflict between staying calm or reacting strongly.
The shouted “split” is widely regarded as a happy accident, kept for the authenticity it brought to the song. The moment occurred during the recording session when Strummer and guest vocalist Joe Ely, a singer-songwriter who helped translate the Spanish lyrics, startled Jones in the vocal booth while they were recording the Spanish backing vocals, and they decided to keep it in.
The final chorus returns to the unresolved question and keeps it unresolved: “Should I stay or should I go.”
