I think the crux of the song is that employment is a class system (“some is rich, and some is poor/that's the way the world is”). And the result of the system is alienation for most workers:
the old man spoke up in a barNot surprisingly, some folks don’t willingly go along with this arrangement, given that life is short:
said i never been in prison
a lifetime serving one machine
is ten times worse than prison
someday you'll meet your rocking chairConsequently, we should seek to understand the structural roots of so-called deviant behaviour, such a bankrobbing. I picked a more contemporary cover of the song for the video because I can’t deal with The Clash’s vocals.
cos that's where we're spinning
there's no point to wanna comb your hair
when it's grey and thinning
[CHORUS]
my daddy was a bankrobber
but he never hurt nobody
he just loved to live that way
and he loved to steal your money
some is rich, and some is poor
that's the way the world is
but i don't believe in lying back
sayin' how bad your luck is
so we came to jazz it up
we never loved a shovel
break your back to earn your pay
an' don't forget to grovel
[CHORUS]
the old man spoke up in a bar
said i never been in prison
a lifetime serving one machine
is ten times worse than prison
imagine if all the boys in jail
could get out now together
whadda you think they'd want to say to us?
while we was being clever
someday you'll meet your rocking chair
cos that's where we're spinning
there's no point to wanna comb your hair
when it's grey and thinning
[CHORUS]
so we came to jazz it up
we never loved a shovel
break your back to earn your pay
an' don't forget to grovel
Get away, get away, get away, get away
[CHORUS]
run rabbit run
strike out boys, for the hills
i can find that hole in the wall
and i know that they never will
-- Bob Barnetson
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