You should’ve stayed, Joe

Joe Strummer, best known for being the front man for The Clash, died on Sunday at his farmhouse in Somerset, southwestern England. He was still actively rocking with his current band, The Mescaleros, working on a tribute single for Nelson Mandela with Bono and Dave Stewart and preparing to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (along with The Police, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Righteous Brothers and good ol’ AC/DC).

My own discovery of The Clash took place in 1983 when my friend Kevin Matte and I sat down at his mother’s downtown condo and listened to Combat Rock album while poring over the liner notes (they were big — remember, albums were on vinyl LPs at the time). We had no idea that those in the know regarded it as their “sell-out” album — we were just blown away by the music. From the boom-chuck ranting in Know Your Rights (“This is a public service announcement…with guitar!” is eerily appropriate in the post 9/11 world) to the straight-out I-IV-V-ish Should I Stay of Should I Go to the jazzy Death is a Star, the album showed us the many interesting directions in which rock can go and led us to discover their previous albums (The Clash, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandinista). The Clash would go on to become a staple of my DJ sets at Clark Hall Pub at Queen’s University and later, when I picked up the accordion, Should I Stay or Should I Go would end up being one of my squeezebox anthems, netting me a lot of free intoxicants from Queen Street West to Prague sausage-and-beer bars to bars full of bikers in New York to Burning Man shantytowns.

Thank you for the music, Joe.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Key of D (major chords in the song are D, G and A)

Darling, you gotta let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

If you say that you are mine

I’ll be here ’til the end of time

So you got to let know

Should I stay or should I go?

Always tease tease tease

   (Siempre – coqetiando y enganyando)

You’re happy when I’m on my knees

   (Me arrodilla y estas feliz)

One day is fine, next is black

   (Un dias bien el otro negro)

So if you want me off your back

   (Al rededar en tu espalda)

Well come on and let me know

   (Me tienes que desir)

Should I Stay or should I go?

   (Me debo ir o que darme)

Should I stay or should I go now?

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble

An’ if I stay it will be double

So come on and let me know

This indecision’s bugging me

   (Esta undecision me molesta)

If you don’t want me, set me free

   (Si no me quieres, librame)

Exactly who’m I’m supposed to be

   (Diga me que tengo ser)

Don’t you know which clothes even fit me?

   (Saves que robas me querda?)

Come on and let me know

   (Me tienes que desir)

Should I cool it or should I blow?

   (Me debo ir o quedarme?)

Should I stay or should I go now?

   (Yo me frio o lo sophlo?)

If I go there will be trouble

   (Si me voi – va ver peligro)

And if I stay it will be double

   (Si me quedo es doble)

So you gotta let me know

   (Me tienes que decir)

Should I stay or should I go?

   (Yo me frio o lo sophlo?)