Guns On the Roof outlines gun violence committed against the populous in and out of wartime.
Ironically, Guns On the Roof was inspired by an incident at a rehearsal involving Topper Headon and Paul Simonon being arrested after firing an air pistol at a pigeon.
I swear by Almighty God
To tell the whole truth
And nothin' but the truth
Guns guns
Guns guns
Guns guns
Guns guns
They torture all the women and children
Then they've put the men to the gun
Because across the human frontier
Freedom's always on the run
Guns guns, a-shakin' in terror
Guns guns, killin' in error
Guns guns, guilty hands
Guns guns, shatter the lands
A system built by the sweat of the many
Creates assassins to kill off the few
Take any place and call it a court house
This is a place where no judge can stand
Sue the lawyers and burn all the papers
Unlock the keys of the legal rapers
A jury of a billion faces
Shouted out condemned out of hand
Guns guns, and nobody's kiddin'
Guns guns, or foolin' around
Guns guns, the violence is singin'
Guns guns, a silence the sound
And I like to be in Africa
A'beatin' on the final drum
I like to be in U.S.S.R
Makin' sure these things will come
I like to be in U.S.A
Pretendin' that the wars are done
And I like to be in Europe
Saying goodbye to everyone
Guns guns, guns on the roof
Guns guns, ready to shoot
Guns guns, guns on the roof
Guns guns, ready to shoot
Guns guns, guns on the roof
Guns guns, ready to shoot
Guns guns, guns on the roof
Guns guns, ready to shoot
Guns guns, guns on the roof
Guns guns, ready to shoot
Guns on the Roof was written by Mick Jones & Joe Strummer.
Guns on the Roof was produced by Sandy Pearlman.
The Clash released Guns on the Roof on Fri Nov 10 1978.