GRUDGE SONG OF THE WEEK

The grudge content of songs is high. Let’s have a look at some of the best grudge songs out there, and see what conclusions we can draw about the grudges that have provided such inspiration…

 

WEEK 3  —  Burial  by PETER TOSH

THE LYRICS

 

Burial – Peter Tosh

Them want I, them want I
Be come a them funeral.
Them claim say, them claim say,
Them are the general.

Them want I, them want I
Be come a them funeral.
Them claim say, them claim say,
Them are the general.

What a big disgrace,
The way you rob up the place,
And you even rob the blind.

You must see want I be come a, come a funeral.
And I no go, no one burial.
Yet you want I, come a, come a funeral,
Make your friends come claim say, claim say
You are the general.

Now we know the truth, yes we do.
Find you wearing the boot
Of taking people’s business on your head, yeah.
So, might as well you be dead.

Them want I, them want I
Them claim say, them claim say,
Them are the general.

Them want I, them want I
Be come a them funeral.
Them claim say, them claim say,
Them are the general.

Let the dead, bury the dead
And who is to be fed, be fed.
I ain’t got no time to waste on you, no, no.
I’m a livin’ man, I got work to do, right now.

This man and that man.
Yes, they are the same man.
You taught us this just as well,
That the rich man heaven is the poor man hell.
You must see, want I be come a, come a funeral.
Natty no go, no one burial

Yet you want I, come a, come a funeral
Make your friends come claim say
You are the general.

SOPHIE’S  TAKE

 

I love this song, though I can’t quite work out what point it’s trying to make. On the one hand, the narrator seems not to think much of the person whose funeral he’s being asked to attend – so is it a proudly defiant song about not feeling duty-bound to attend the funeral of someone you neither rate nor care about?

Or is the song expressing more of a general grudge about the way death impinges on the living, who should be concerning themselves only with life while they’re still able to enjoy it?

Maybe it’s trying to make both points, which is fine, but it does leave me wondering if Tosh would feel the same way about all funerals — and I think I’d prefer him not to.

Anyway…I love this song, and I generally love all songs about people who don’t intend to do what ‘Dem want I’ to do!

OTHER GRUDGE GOODIES

“Hopefully once you’ve read this book, you will  understand that grudges can and should be great, and you’ll be inspired to pass on the gift of grudge-holding to the next generation. Sending yourself and your loved ones out into the world with a strong grudge-growing ability is as essential as putting on a helmet and not drinking four bottles of vodka before getting onto your motorbike and zooming off down the motorway. Trust me: it’s true”