Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler's dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry's bright blond hair. Previously having been a Playboy Bunny, Harry fronted the early version of the band. initially known as "Angel and the Snakes". They built up underground fame in NYC. Blondie released their first album, 'Blondie', in 1976. The album was mildly successful and spawned the Australian hit single "In The Flesh". Gary Valentine left the band later that year, and they continued briefly as a foursome, recording 'Plastic Letters' and gaining more airplay with their track "Denis". Still in touch with their punk roots, having played in clubs such as CBGBs and hung out with rock artists such as the Ramones, the band broke out into other, more diverse influences such as older dance and pop music, particularly interested in Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' technique.
Valentine was replaced by Los Angeles-based musician Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar) in 1977. Infante had already played guitar on one track on 'Plastic Letters'. The band went out playing live with Infante and Stein swopping between playing guitar and bass guitar throughout each concert. The band also added British born but LA-based Nigel Harrison (bass guitar), making Blondie a six piece group for the first time. Harrison was a former member of the glam rock band Silverhead.
In 1978, they released the album that would make them international stars, titled 'Parallel Lines'. The album spawned several hit singles, including the number one hit "Heart Of Glass", "Sunday Girl", "Hanging On The Telephone" (a cover of the famous power pop track by The Nerves), and "One Way Or Another". The success of the heavily disco influenced "Heart of Glass", a song sometimes censored for its use of strong language for the time and considered by the band as tongue-in-cheek, proved controversial among many fans of the band's punk background, but it managed to break them through at a massive level.
They released three more albums (1979's Eat To The Beat, 1980's Autoamerican (containing the number one singles "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and 1982's The Hunter) as well as a number one single "Call Me", from the score of the 1980 film "American Gigolo".
In 1980, Harrison contributed several unused Blondie songs to ex-Silverhead singer Michael Des Barres solo album I'm Only Human. In 1981, Harry released a solo album Koo Koo, Destri released a solo album Heart On A Wall. Burke recorded and played live with the Eurythmics, and Stein started a record label named Animal Records.
In 1982, health problems for Stein, declining sales and inter-band tension caused the band to split. Harry kept a low profile for a few years while she nursed (now former) boyfriend Stein through a serious illness, but then continued a solo career as an actress/singer.
Reformation plans begun in 1997 with a line-up that included Harry, Stein, Destri, Burke, Valentine, and Harrison. Infante was not invited to the reunion. Valentine and Harrison were eventually (and unceremoniously, they claim) replaced by Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass).
The band released No Exit in 1998, which did quite well in both US and UK charts and contained the number one hit single "Maria".
The album did not include any song contributions from Valentine or Harrison, despite them recording early sessions for the album and Valentine being assured by Stein that they would use his already recorded song "Amor Fati". Harrison and Infante later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming breach of contract for not including them in the reunion.
The Curse Of Blondie was released in 2003 and, while not matching its predecessor in sales, was critically acclaimed and spawned the global dance hit "Good Boys".
Destri retired from touring in 2004. Kevin Patrick (keyboards), Destri's former keyboard tech and assistant, replaced him soon followed by Matt Katz-Bohen in 2008.
The band's 2006 induction ceremony into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was the scene of an awkward moment between Infante and Harry, during which he asked that the former members be allowed to play along with fellow inductees Harry, Stein and Burke during the band's set, since it was the original band that was being inducted. Harry replied "Can't you see my band is up there?" prompting Infante to counter "I thought it was Blondie that was being inducted."
In 2006, the band toured as the opening act for The New Cars on the "Road Rage Tour." Although Harry was more than 60 years old, the band still managed incendiary versions of their old hits, while playing with enough fire to remind the audience of their punk roots.
In 2007, the band embarked on a tour of Europe, to coincide with the DVD release of the first ever music video album "Eat To The Beat".
Harry has since resumed her solo career, releasing 2007's Necessary Evil.
On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both recently told interviewers that the band is working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record.
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday.
The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens will provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler. Panic of Girls is tentatively set to be released in 2010/2011.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls. After a break in July the tour will resume in August and cover the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie is then set to take the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November and December. It was revealed that the bands album will be released on the Australian Sony label in November 2010, and elsewhere in January 2011.
Songfacts reports that Mother, the first single from Panic of Girls received its global premiere on BBC Radio on March 17th, 2011 and was made available for purchase on May 23, 2011.
In May 2017 a new album was released named Pollinator with the single "Long Time" which saw the daylight in March.
In 2021, the band released a short film along with a soundtrack EP titled Vivir en la Habana. They also released an alternate version of their song Rapture titled “Yuletide Throwdown” which featured Fab 5 Freddy.
In 2022, Blondie released a Sunday Girl EP consisting of an unreleased demo and live version
of the song as well as the previously released french version of the track in honor of Record Store Day. The band went on a UK tour with support from Johnny Marr followed by a US tour with support from The Damned titled “Against The Odds Tour”, which Chris Stein did not attend due to health problems. They also announced the release of their first archival project and box set, titled Against The Odds: 1974 - 1982, which took six years to compile, began recording their twelfth studio album and remastered their music videos in HD.
War Child
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Defense and weaponry
No way of knowing
My life expectancy
I learn resistance
Like I learn to see
A living witness
I'm a war child
I'm a war baby
And that's the difference
Between you and me
I'm a war child
My occupation
Is being occupied
I stop at the corner
To be identified
Across the border
They pretend victory
I'm playing in the rubble
And dream a destiny
I'm a war child
I'm a war baby
And that's the difference
Between you and me
I'm a war child
You weren't discovered by Khmer Rouge
We hear of "the troubles" on the nightly news
PLO lovers courting after the curfew
Your father and brother have the West Bank blues
You weren't discovered by Khmer Rouge
We hear of "the troubles" on the nightly news
PLO lovers courting after the curfew
Your father and brother have the West Bank blues
I'm a war child
I'm a war baby
I'm a war child
I'm a war baby
I'm a war child
Blondie's song "War Child" tells the story of someone who grew up in a war-torn country and had to learn to live in a world where danger and violence was the norm. The lyrics communicates the feeling of needing to be constantly on guard in order to survive. The desire to have defense and weaponry is not just for protection but is also a means of feeling a sense of control in an unpredictable environment. The line "No way of knowing my life expectancy" captures the uncertainty of living in a war zone where death could come at any moment.
The singer of the song has learned to resist as a way of surviving, and has become a witness to the horrors of war. The reference to being a "lonely refugee" suggests that the person has been displaced from their home and has had to seek shelter elsewhere. The repetition of the phrase "I'm a war child, I'm a war baby" reinforces the idea that the person's identity has been shaped by their experiences of war.
The second verse highlights the reality of living under military occupation in a conflict zone. The line "My occupation is being occupied" speaks to the loss of agency that comes with being under occupation. Being identified on the street suggests a level of surveillance and the possibility of being targeted. The line "I'm playing in the rubble and dream a destiny" juxtaposes the bleakness of the surroundings with a glimmer of hope and a yearning for something better.
Overall, "War Child" is a powerful commentary on the impact of war on individuals and communities, and a reminder of the ongoing human cost of conflict.
Line by Line Meaning
I need city lights
I seek light in the midst of darkness and chaos of war
Defense and weaponry
I require protection and armament to survive in a hostile environment
No way of knowing
Uncertainty, unpredictability, and a lack of assurance permeate my reality
My life expectancy
The duration of my life is at the whim of war and its agents
I learn resistance
I acquire the skill of opposing, thwarting and overcoming the forces that oppress me
Like I learn to see
I develop my ability to perceive my surroundings and my condition as a part of my survival strategy
A living witness
I am a testimony, an embodiment, and a reminder of the destructive nature of war, its atrocities and its victims
A lonely refugee
I am displaced from home, alienated, and marginalized, seeking a place of belonging and safety
I'm a war child
I am a product, embodiment and symbol of war, carrying its scars, trauma, and pain
My occupation
My status and role are determined not by my profession, but by being subject to the aggression, domination, and control of others
Is being occupied
My life is usurped by forces that occupy and subjugate me
I stop at the corner
Every moment of my day-to-day life carries with it insecurity, suspicion, and the potential for danger
To be identified
I am marked, labeled, and categorized as an object of suspicion, surveillance, and potential threat
Across the border
There is a dividing line, a boundary, a frontier that separates me from 'others' who perceive my existence as a problem or a hindrance
They pretend victory
The oppressors, aggressors, and occupiers feign success, triumph, and conquest while ignoring the casualties, destruction, and human cost of such actions
I'm playing in the rubble
I find solace, hope, and agency in the midst of destruction, loss, and decay
And dream a destiny
I imagine and envision a future, a path, a purpose that transcends and defies the current reality
Between you and me
The difference between my fate and yours lies in our vastly different life experiences, realities, and histories
You weren't discovered by Khmer Rouge
You did not suffer and experience the brutal, inhumane actions of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia
We hear of 'the troubles' on the nightly news
We are aware of the ongoing, protracted conflict, violence and sectarianism in Northern Ireland, but only through media channels
PLO lovers courting after the curfew
People in the occupied territories of Palestine engage in relationships, desire, and romance despite the restrictions, curfews, and curtailments imposed on their freedom of movement
Your father and brother have the West Bank blues
Your kinfolk in the West Bank region endure oppression, displacement, and marginalization that rob them of their dignity, agency, and livelihoods
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEBORAH HARRY, NIGEL HARRISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kc
on Accidents Never Happen
Judging from the cultural framework at the time i read it as lies being exposed for the middle income layers of the society who ere led to believe that if they follow certain codes they will be happy and prosperous but so many fail so accidents nver happen is a mockery