Washington Bullets (song) - Definition and Overview

For the basketball team, see Washington Wizards.

Washington Bullets
Compact Disk album by The Clash
From the album Sandinista!
Released	December 12 1980.
Recorded	Unknown
Genre	Punk Rock
Length	3 min, 51 sec
Record label	CBS Records
Producer	???
Sandinista! track listing
The Call Up (22)	Washington Bullets (23)	Broadway (24)

"Washington Bullets" is a song from The Clash's 1980 album Sandinista!. A politically charged song, it is a simplified version of Latin American history from the 1959 Cuban Revolution to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas of the 1980s, with mention of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Dalai Lama. A criticism of the foreign policy of the United States, the song also betrays The Clash's left wing politics.

The song is one of The Clash's more experimental, in the reggae style, with a xylophone and lyrics that are almost spoken rather than sung. Though the xylophone is the most prominent instrument, electric guitar riffs are still audible.

At 2 minutes 2 seconds, the lyrics to the song effectively finish, with 1 minute and 47 seconds of drums, xylophone and guitar interspersed with the occasional cry of "Sandinista!".

At 2 minutes 42 seconds, a monkey-like laughing/howling noise is heard, lasting until 3 minutes and 1 second.

External links

• Chords and lyrics for "Washington Bullets" (http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/1028/tab_washington_bullets.html)