SONG I Fought The LawWRITTEN BY Sonny Curtis
PERFORMED BY The Bobby Fuller Four/The Clash/many others, including Mike Ness, Bruce Springsteen and Green Day
APPEARS ON The Best Of The Bobby Fuller Four/The Essential Clash
Outlaw songs are at least as old as popular music itself. The image of a gallant loner battling a rigid and unyielding legal establishment has proved irresistible for generations of songwriters. In 1959, Texan Sonny Curtis wrote one of the best, "I Fought The Law." Intended as a vehicle for himself and the post-Buddy Holly Crickets, their single went precisely nowhere.
The song lay fallow, as it were, until 1965, when fellow Texan Bobby Fuller took his turn at it. The Bobby Fuller Four version achieved Top Ten status, as well as additional notoriety when Fuller was found dead under mysterious circumstances later the following year, an apparent suicide. At that point, "I Fought The Law" might well have been relegated to oldies status, appearing every now and then on classic rock radio. No later than 1975, Bruce Springsteen performed the song occasionally as part of the oldies encore then a standard portion of his marathon shows. (I saw him sing it in 1975.)
The videos below include two performances by the Bobby Fuller Four. In the first, fetishistic cowgirl go-go dancers join the band, precursors to the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. In the second, a lone female dancer trapped behind a web of phallic prison bars hangs on to two of them and dances frantically, an icon of oppressed sexuality. At one point, an overweight uniformed prison guard mocks her while the band remains free, playing outside of the prison cell.
In 1976, "I Fought The Law" experienced an unlikely resurrection courtesy of The Clash. By increasing the tempo and volume considerably, The Clash turned "I Fought The Law" into a punk anthem. Their brilliant performance contrasted the rebellious punk whose perception of a dysfunctional, oppressive society eventually led to persecution by the establishment. The Clash's cover is easily the best version of the song, and it became almost de rigeur for punk bands to cover it. The videos below include versions by The Clash, Green Day, and Social Distortion's Mike Ness.
Lyrically uncomplicated, "I Fought The Law's" genius lies in the connection it makes with misunderstood and rebellious young people of all generations. The Clash, ironically, winds up speaking for the rebel in all of us, for we have all been young.
LYRICSBreakin' rocks in the...hot sunI fought the law and the...law wonI fought the law and the...law wonI needed money 'cause I...had noneI fought the law and the...law won
I fought the law and the...law wonI left my baby and I feel so badI guess my race is runWell, she's the best girl I've ever hadI fought the law and the...law won
I fought the law and the...law won
Robbin' people with a...six gunI fought the law and the...law won
I fought the law and the...law wonI miss my baby and the...good funI fought the law and the...law wonI fought the law and the...law wonI left my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
Well, she's the best girl I've ever had
I fought the law and the...law won
I fought the law and the...law won
Hear the audio of the original song by Sonny Curtis and the Crickets here.
The Bobby Fuller Four (version #1):
Bobby Fuller (version #2):
Listen to a 1981 Bruce Springsteen rendition here.
The Clash perform the definitive version:
Green Day's outstanding interpretation:
Mike Ness of Social Distortion offers an interesting countrified version:
Now this was way cool! A beautiful progression of the song's history. I always thought the Bobby Fuller version sounded like Buddy Holly, and to learn that it was written by Sonny Curtis and to hear it performed by him and the Crickets just emphasizes that sound. Of course The Clash did the song the way it was meant to be played. A friend of mine brought the record over when it first came out, and we just had to learn to play it; those stop-start riffs are irresistible. I don't like the Green Day version so much - far too mannered compared to The Clash. But Mike Ness's version is brilliant, and it brings the song full circle, back to its Rockabilly roots.
ReplyDeleteThanks K, this was great!
Thanks! And great story about learning to play it!
ReplyDeleteThe Clash's version will never be equalled. If I had to choose the best cover anyone has ever done of anything, it would be this. (Or Bob Dylan doing "Baby Let Me Follow You Down," which is pretty legit competition). I like the way the end of The Clash's video politicizes the song.
For all of his political leftism -- which I subscribe to 100% -- Bruce S. is a musical conservative. His rendition, when I saw it, was plenty vital but definitely of a piece with the BF4. Amazing to think that a year later, The Clash completely redefined the song and pretty much immortalized it.
I had no idea about the Crickets connection until I researched this entry. But it does make perfect sense. And I agree: Mike Ness sort of brings it all back home. Have you ever heard Social Distortion's cover of "Ring Of Fire"? It's pretty amazing, too.
With Bruce, it wasn't hard to imagine go-go girls. That's impossible with The Clash.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, & right on about the Clash really doing that song right. I actually have the Bobby Fuller Four album you have pictured & I like their recorded version. I'm with Roy both on Green Day & on Mike Ness-- his version is also really on the money!
ReplyDeleteThe version by The Clash is only on the American release of their first album, not on the British version. Both are great, but I have to give the nod to the US version because of I Fought The Law and White Man In Hammersmith Palais.
ReplyDeletergg
Dont forget the Dead Kennedy's too.
ReplyDeleteI actually prefer the version by Social Distortion over the Clash. It is surprising how many artists have covered this tune. A true legacy for writer Sonny Curtis!
ReplyDelete