In contrast to the Sex Pistols 'anarchy', Crass' attitude was more directly influenced by libertarian socialist philosophy and anarchism's nineteenth century roots. In the process they promoted anarchism as a legitimate political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement, popularizing the seminal peace punk movement and touching on such overtly political issues as anti-consumerism, direct action, feminism, pacifism, anti-corporatism, environmentalism, anti-globalization, anti-racism, religious power, and squatting.
Taking literally the punk manifesto of "Do It Yourself", Crass combined the use of sound collage, graphics, song, film, and subversion to launch a sustained and innovative critical broadside against all that they saw as a culture built on foundations of war, violence, sexism, prejudice, capitalism, religious hypocrisy and unthinking consumerism. They were also critical of what they perceived as the flaws of the punk movement itself, as well as wider youth culture in general. Crass were amongst the progenitors of the anarcho-pacifism that became common in the punk music scene.
Origins of the band:
The band came together when Dial House founder and former member of avant-garde performance art groups EXIT and Ceres Confusion Penny Rimbaud (real name Jerry Ratter) began jamming with Clash fan Steve Ignorant (real name Steve Williams), who was staying at the house at the time. Between them they put together the songs "So What?" and "Do They Owe Us A Living?" as a drums and vocals duo. For a (very) short period of time they called themselves Stormtrooper, before choosing the name Crass, a reference to the David Bowie song "Ziggy Stardust" (specifically the line "The kids was just crass").
Other friends and members of the household began to join in, including Joy De Vivre, Pete Wright, Andy Palmer, Steve Herman and Eve Libertine (originally "the Band's first fan"), and it was not long before Crass performed their first live gig as part of a squatted street festival at Huntley Street, North London. Here they had intended to play a set of five songs; however, the "plug was pulled" on them by a neighbor after three. Guitarist Steve Herman shortly afterwards left the band to be replaced by Phil Clancey, who adopted the alias Phil Free. Other early Crass gigs included a four date tour of New York as well as regularly playing alongside the UK Subs at the White Lion pub in Putney. These latter performances were often not well-attended; "The audience consisted mostly of us when the Subs played and the Subs when we played."
Crass also played at the legendary Roxy punk club in London's Covent Garden area. By the band's own account this was a drunken debacle, ending in the group being ejected from the stage, and immortalized by their song "Banned from the Roxy" and Rimbaud's essay Crass at the Roxy.
Following this incident the band decided to take themselves more seriously, particularly paying more attention to their presentation. As well as avoiding drugs such as alcohol or cannabis before gigs, they also adopted a policy of wearing black, military surplus-style clothing at all times, whether on or off stage. They introduced their distinctive stage backdrop, a logo designed by Rimbaud's friend Dave King (later of Sleeping Dogs Lie). This gave the band a militaristic image, which led some to accuse them of fascism. Crass countered that their uniform appearance was intended to be a statement against the "cult of personality", so that, in contrast to the norm for many rock bands, no member would be identified as the 'leader'.
The aforementioned logo represented an amalgamation of several "icons of authority" including the Christian Cross, the swastika and the Union Flag combined with a two headed snake consuming itself (to symbolize the idea that power will eventually destroy itself). Using such deliberately mixed messages was part of Crass' strategy of presenting themselves as a "barrage of contradictions", which also included using loud, aggressive music to promote a pacifist message, and was in part a reference to their own Dadaist and performance art backgrounds.
The band eschewed any elaborate stage lighting during live sets, instead preferring to be illuminated by simple 40 watt household light bulbs (the technical difficulties of filming under such lighting conditions in part explains why there is such little live footage of Crass in existence). The band pioneered multimedia presentation techniques, fully utilizing video technology and using back-projected films and video collages made by Mick Duffield and Gee Vaucher to enhance their performances.
Crass Records:
Crass' first release was The Feeding Of The 5000, an 18 track 12" 45 rpm EP on the Small Wonder label in 1978. Workers at the pressing plant initially refused to handle it due to the allegedly blasphemous content of the song "Reality Asylum". The record was eventually released with this track removed and replaced by two minutes of silence, ironically titled "The Sound Of Free Speech". This incident prompted Crass to set up their own independent record label, Crass Records, in order to retain full editorial control over their material. "Reality Asylum" was shortly afterwards released on Crass Records in a re-recorded and extended form as a 7" single. Later pressings of the album (also on Crass Records) restored the original version of the missing track.
As well as their own material, Crass Records released recordings by other performers, the first of which was the 1980 single "You Can Be You" by Honey Bane, a teenage girl who was staying at Dial House whilst on the run from a children's home. Other artists included Zounds, Flux Of Pink Indians, Omega Tribe, Crucifix, Rudimentary Peni, Conflict, Icelandic band KUKL (who included singer Björk), classical singer Jane Gregory, Anthrax, Lack of Knowledge and the Poison Girls, a like-minded band who worked closely with Crass for several years.
Crass Records also put out three editions of Bullshit Detector, compilations of demos and rough recordings which had been sent to the band, and which they felt represented the D.I.Y. punk ethic.
The catalog numbers of Crass Records releases were intended to represent a countdown to the year 1984 (eg, 521984 meaning "five years until 1984"), both the year that Crass stated that they would split up, and a date charged with significance in the anti-authoritarian calendar due to George Orwell's novel of the same name.
Subsequent Releases
The second Crass Album, Stations of the Crass, was released in 1979 and was an ambitious double album featuring three sides of new material and a live side from a gig at the Pied Bull in Islington. Stations saw the band beginning to experiment with new sounds and styles whilst maintaining a heavy punk aesthetic.
In 1980, they toured the Netherlands and Germany. Photos of the concert by Crass in March 1980, in Voorschoten, the Netherlands, with Poison Girls, Annie Anxiety, Seaman Stockton, and Dutch bands Cheap'n'Nasty, Perfect Grandmothers, God's Hangover, Neo Neurotics are under the link at Sources.
Crass released their third album Penis Envy in 1981. This marked a departure from the 'hardcore punk' image that Feeding of the 5000 and Stations of the Crass had to some extent given the group. It featured more complex musical arrangements and exclusively female vocals provided by Eve Libertine and Joy De Vivre (although Steve Ignorant remained a group member and is credited on the record sleeve as "not on this recording").
The album addressed feminist issues and once again attacked the institutions of 'the system' such as marriage and sexual repression. One track, a deliberately saccharine parody of a 'MOR' love song entitled "Our Wedding", was given away as a flexi disc with 'Loving', a teenage girl's romance magazine having been offered it by an organization calling itself "Creative Recording And Sound Services" (note the initials). A minor tabloid controversy resulted once the hoax was revealed, with the News of the World going so far as to state that the album's title was "too obscene to print".
The band's fourth LP, 1982's double set Christ The Album, was certainly the band's most ambitious project: featuring not just two sides of new songs floating between the softer, layered, sound of Penis Envy and the more classic punk sound of their earlier work, but also two live sides (all of which were heavily interspersed with tape loops, media samples and other studio innovations). The LP came with the - by now ubiquitous - collection of posters and other artwork, and also featured essays by three band members on issues such as education, pacifism, and the failures (and successes) of the punk and hippie movements.
Christ The Album took over a year to record, produce and mix, during which time the Falklands War had broken out and ended. This caused Crass to fundamentally question their approach to making records. As a group whose primary purpose was political commentary, they felt they had been overtaken and made to appear redundant by real world events. Subsequent releases, including the singles "How does it Feel to Be the Mother of A Thousand Dead" and "Sheep Farming in the Falklands", and the album Yes Sir, I Will, saw the band strip their sound back to basics and were issued as "tactical responses" to political situations. They also anonymously produced 20,000 copies of a flexi-disc featuring a live recording of "Sheep Farming...", copies of which were randomly inserted into the sleeves of other records by sympathetic workers at the Rough Trade records distribution warehouse as a means of spreading their views to those who might not normally hear them.
Direct Action, 'Thatchergate' and internal debates:
From their earliest days of spraying stenciled anti-war, anarchist, feminist and anti-consumerist graffiti messages around the London Underground system and on advertising billboards, the band had always been involved in political as well as musical activities. On December 18th, 1982, Crass coordinated a 24 hour squat of the Zig Zag club in West London primarily for an all day event attended by approximately 500 people to prove "that the underground punk scene could handle itself responsibly when it had to and that music really could be enjoyed free of the restraints imposed upon it by corporate industry".
Bands playing at the Zig Zag (in running order) were Faction, D and V, Omega Tribe, Lack of Knowledge, Sleeping Dogs, The Apostles, Amebix, Null & Void, Soldiers of Fortune, The Mob, Polemic Attack, Poison Girls, Conflict, Flux of Pink Indians, Crass and DIRT.
In 1983 and 1984 they were part of the Stop the City actions instigated by London Greenpeace that were arguably fore-runners of the anti-globalization actions of the early 21st century. Explicit support for such activities was given in the lyrics of the band's final single release "You're Already Dead", which also saw Crass abandoning their long time commitment to pacifism. This led to further introspection within the band, with some members feeling that they were beginning to become embittered as well as losing sight of their essentially positive stance. As a reflection of this debate, the next release using the Crass name was Acts of Love, classical music settings of 50 poems by Penny Rimbaud described as "songs to my other self" and intended to celebrate "'the profound sense of unity, peace and love that exists within that other self." A further post-Falklands war hoax that originated from members of Crass became known as 'the Thatchergate tapes'. This was a cassette featuring a faked conversation using edited recordings of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan's voices, in which they appeared to allege that Europe would be used as a target for intermediate range nuclear weapons in any conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. Copies were leaked to the press, and although put together totally anonymously, the British Observer newspaper was somehow able to link the tape with the band.
Crass all but retired from the public eye after becoming a small thorn in the side of Margaret Thatcher's government following the Falklands War. Questions in Parliament and an attempted prosecution under the UK's Obscene Publications Act for their single "How Does It Feel..." led to a round of court battles and what the band describes as harassment that finally took its toll. On July 7th, 1984 the band played their final gig at Aberdare in Wales, a benefit for striking miners, before retreating to Dial House to concentrate their energies elsewhere.
Guitarist Andy Palmer had announced that he intended to move on from the band in order to further his art college studies, and the reported group consensus was that replacing him would be "like having a corpse in the band". This catalyzed the affirmation of Crass' consistently stated intention to split up in 1984.
Members of Crass were involved in one subsequent release, Ten Notes on a Summers Day, which owed much more to Penny Rimbaud's interest in free-form jazz than to punk and was concerned with more abstract, 'positive', themes than Crass' other work. Rimbaud in particular saw this release (along with Acts of Love) as something of an antithesis to the negative and reactionary work of the post-Falkland era. A posthumous collection of singles and EP material - Best Before 1984 - was released in 1986.
Steve Ignorant went on to join the band Conflict, with whom he had already worked on an ad hoc basis, and in 1992 formed Schwartzeneggar (sic). From 1997 to 2000, he was a member of the group Stratford Mercenaries. He has also worked as a Punch and Judy professor and as a solo performer. Eve Libertine continued to record with her son Nemo Jones as well as performance artist A-Soma. Pete Wright concentrated on building himself a houseboat and formed the performance art group Judas 2, whilst Rimbaud continued to write and perform both solo and with other artists.
2002 onwards - The Crass Collective/Crass Agenda/Last Amendment:
In November 2002 several former members of Crass collaborated under the name The Crass Collective to arrange Your Country Needs You, a concert of "voices in opposition to war" held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank that included a performance of Britten's War Requiem as well as performers such as Goldblade, Fun-Da-Mental, Ian MacKaye and Pete Wright's post-Crass project Judas 2. In October 2003, the Crass Collective changed their working title to Crass Agenda, and they continue to perform regularly. During 2004 Crass Agenda were at the forefront of the campaign to save the Vortex Jazz Club in Stoke Newington, North London, which has now relocated to Hackney. In June 2005 Crass Agenda was declared to be 'no more', subsequently changing the name of the project to the 'more appropriate' Last Amendment.
In 2007, Steve Ignorant performed two shows at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire venue, under the name "The Feeding Of The 5000". Ignorant, along with a band featuring no other Crass members, performed the album of the same name in it's entirety, along with other Crass songs. In 2010, Ignorant announced a tour called "The Last Supper", during which he intends to perform Crass material from the period 1977-1984. He has stated that this tour will be the last time he performs Crass material with a band.
Influences:
Crass had a huge influence on the anarchist movement in the UK, US, and around the world. With the growth of anarcho-punk came new generations of people who became interested in anarchist ideas.
The philosophical and aesthetic influence of Crass on numerous punk bands from the 1980s were far reaching, even if few bands mimicked their later more free-form musical style (as on Yes Sir, I Will and their final recording, 10 Notes on a Summer's Day). The band has stated that their musical antecedents and influences were seldom drawn from the rock music tradition, but rather from classical music (particularly Benjamin Britten, on whose work, Rimbaud states, some of Crass' riffs are directly based), Dada and the avant-garde such as John Cage as well as performance art traditions.
Their painted and collage-art black-and-white record sleeves produced by Gee Vaucher themselves became a signature aesthetic model, and can be seen as an influence on later artists such as British graffiti artist Banksy (Banksy and Vaucher have latterly collaborated) and the subvertising movement.
In 2007, US anti-folk singer-songwriter and graphic artist Jeffrey Lewis released an album of Crass covers called 12 Crass Songs. Crass were also name checked in Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip's 2007 song "Thou Shalt Always Kill," as 'just a band.'
Official Crass Website
So What
Crass Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They tell me I got things they never had.
They tell me go to church and see the light.
'cause the good lord's always right.
So what, so what.
So what if Jesus died on the cross.
So what about the fucker, I don't give a toss.
I don't see him trying to stop the slaughter.
They say I wouldn't have to live from bins.
If I would go along, confess my sins.
They say I shouldn't commit no crime.
'cause Jesus Christ is watching all the time.
So what, so what.
So what if he's always over my shoulder.
I realise the truth as I get older.
I get to see what a con it is.
Because it's my life, mine not his.
Well, they say they're going to send me away.
Said they're going to make me pay.
We're sorry but you got to go.
But you were naughty, you said "No".
So what, so what.
So what if I see through the lies.
So what if the people I despise
Twist my arm and make me work,
I'm no deaf, no fucking jerk.
I'm no spastic lying in the street.
I'm no superstar elite.
I'm just a person, a human being.
NO YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE A PART OF THE MACHINE.
You're a part our machine because we want you to be.
We've got you now and you'll never be free.
We can even have your body after you're dead.
We can take the eyes out of your fucking head.
Yes we'll take them out, use them again.
We can do it you know 'cause we've got your brain.
We'll crucify you like we crucified him.
We'll make you obey our every whim.
We got the power, the power and the glory.
I've heard that before in a different story.
But the story I heard covered up the truth,
Didn't touch on the actual factual proof.
Didn't say about the bodies in the concentration camps,
Didn't say about the (surgeons) knives underneath the lamps,
Doesn't say that the ovens are still warm,
Doesn't say that this wretched little form
Is a human being who wants to live
But not in the snot and shit they give.
They say that I had better keep quiet
Or they're gonna douse my light.
Jesus Christ can save my life,
But I can always use my knife.
So what, so what, so what, so what, so what, so what, so what, SO WHAT
The Crass song "So What" is a protest against the religious morality and social control prevalent in society. The song's lyrics center around the singer's anger at being judged and controlled by those who claim to represent a higher morality. The singer reacts to the pressure to conform and assimilate by rejecting the view that submitting to authority will lead to a better life. The lyrics are critiques of Christian dogma, and how it can lead to ethical blindness and indifference to suffering. The song is a strong reminder that people can be free, autonomous individuals who reject control and make their own decisions.
The singer's anger is focused on the hypocrisy of those who tell him that he must change to be a better person. The song highlights how the church and society as a whole often shun those who don't conform to their expectations or beliefs. The lyrics emphasize the singer's rejection of the idea that Jesus died for our sins or is the solution to our problems. Instead, he urges people to think for themselves and not be brainwashed by religious propaganda or social pressure. The singer's viewpoint is that humans are free to choose their own paths in life and that they should not submit to the will of others, especially those who claim to have a moral and spiritual superiority.
The song was seen as highly controversial at the time of its release in 1978. It was banned from being played on radio stations and was often censored or edited when live performances were broadcast. Despite the pushback from religious and conservative groups, Crass continued to perform the song as part of their setlist. The song's bold and confrontational message and raw punk energy contributed to its lasting influence in punk rock and activism. Fun fact: Punk band Green Day covered "So What" for a tribute album to Crass in 1993.
Line by Line Meaning
They ask me why I'm hateful, why I'm bad.
People question my negative attitude and behavior.
They tell me I got things they never had.
People claim that I have privilege they lack.
They tell me go to church and see the light.
People suggest that attending church will improve my outlook and behavior.
'cause the good lord's always right.
Because they believe that God's teachings are always correct.
So what if Jesus died on the cross.
The crucifixion of Jesus is not relevant to my current situation or beliefs.
So what about the fucker, I don't give a toss.
The singer does not care about Jesus or his message.
So what if the master walked on the water.
Jesus' supposed miracle of walking on water is not important to the singer's life.
I don't see him trying to stop the slaughter.
The artist does not see the relevance of Jesus' past actions to the current state of the world.
They say I wouldn't have to live from bins.
People believe that if the artist adheres to societal norms, they will not have to scavenge for food.
If I would go along, confess my sins.
If the artist conforms to societal expectations and seeks forgiveness for any wrongdoings, their living situation may improve.
They say I shouldn't commit no crime.
People advise the singer to follow the law and not engage in criminal behavior.
'cause Jesus Christ is watching all the time.
Because they believe that God is always observing and judging their actions.
I realise the truth as I get older.
The singer is gaining awareness and understanding as they age.
I get to see what a con it is.
The singer is starting to recognize the deception and falsity present in societal norms and beliefs.
Because it's my life, mine not his.
The singer believes that they have the right to make their own choices in life, rather than being dictated by outside influences.
Well, they say they're going to send me away.
People threaten to punish or institutionalize the artist for their behavior and beliefs.
Said they're going to make me pay.
People warn that the artist will suffer consequences for their actions.
We're sorry but you got to go.
People express regret that the singer must be removed from society or punished for their behavior.
But you were naughty, you said "No".
The singer's refusal to conform to societal expectations is seen as a negative and defiant act.
So what if I see through the lies.
The artist is not swayed by deceitful or oppressive societal norms and beliefs.
So what if the people I despise.
The artist does not feel affected by the opinions of those they dislike or disagree with.
Twist my arm and make me work,
The artist is forced to perform labor against their will, possibly due to poverty or societal pressure.
I'm no deaf, no fucking jerk.
The singer is not incapable or unintelligent, despite societal attempts to enforce conformity and subservience.
I'm no spastic lying in the street.
The artist is not helpless or incapacitated by their beliefs or behavior.
I'm no superstar elite.
The singer does not view themselves as an exceptional or privileged member of society.
I'm just a person, a human being.
The singer is an individual with their own thoughts, feelings, and desires.
NO YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE A PART OF THE MACHINE.
Others view the singer as merely a cog in the larger societal machine, rather than a unique individual.
You're a part our machine because we want you to be.
Society enforces conformity and expects individuals to adhere to societal norms and expectations.
We've got you now and you'll never be free.
Society will not tolerate those who refuse to conform and will punish those who resist or rebel.
We can even have your body after you're dead.
Society exerts control over individuals even after they have died.
We can take the eyes out of your fucking head.
Society can mutilate and deface the corpses of those who resist or rebel.
Yes we'll take them out, use them again.
Society can use the remains of individuals for its own purposes, regardless of the individual's wishes or beliefs.
We'll crucify you like we crucified him.
Society will punish those who resist or rebel, just as Jesus was punished for his teachings.
We'll make you obey our every whim.
Society expects individuals to submit to its authority and conform to its expectations.
We got the power, the power and the glory.
Society wields authority and maintains control over individuals.
I've heard that before in a different story.
The artist has seen and experienced societal oppression and cruelty before, possibly in a historical context.
But the story I heard covered up the truth,
The singer has learned that society hides the reality of its oppression and cruelty.
Didn't touch on the actual factual proof.
The singer has discovered evidence that contradicts societal narratives.
Didn't say about the bodies in the concentration camps,
Society conceals the atrocities committed in places such as concentration camps.
Didn't say about the (surgeons) knives underneath the lamps,
Society conceals the use of medical experiments and torture in its attempts to control individuals.
Doesn't say that the ovens are still warm,
Society covers up evidence of its atrocities and refuses to acknowledge the suffering it has caused.
Doesn't say that this wretched little form
Society does not care about or value the lives and well-being of its citizens.
Is a human being who wants to live
The singer is a person with desires, needs, and a fundamental right to exist and be treated with dignity.
But not in the snot and shit they give.
The artist does not want to conform to or be controlled by societal norms and expectations, which they view as oppressive and degrading.
They say that I had better keep quiet
Society expects individuals to remain silent about their beliefs and refuse to challenge the status quo.
Or they're gonna douse my light.
Society will punish and oppress those who refuse to conform and challenge the status quo.
Jesus Christ can save my life,
For some, religion offers hope and salvation from the suffering and oppression wrought by societal systems and norms.
But I can always use my knife.
The artist is willing to use violence and defiance to resist societal oppression and maintain their dignity and freedom.
So what, so what, so what, so what, so what, so what, so what, SO WHAT
The singer remains defiant and unconvinced by societal norms and expectations, continuing to resist and fight for their own autonomy and dignity.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nofx2698
They ask me why I'm hateful, why I'm bad.
They tell me I got things they never had.
They tell me go to church and see the light.
Cos the good lord's always right.
So what, so what.
So what if Jesus died on the cross.
So what about the fucker, I don't give a toss.
So what if the master walked on the water.
I don't see him trying to stop the slaughter.
They say I wouldn't have to live from bins.
If I would go along, confess my sins.
They say I shouldn't commit no crime.
Cos Jesus Christ is watching all the time.
So what, so what.
So what if he's always over my shoulder.
I realise the truth as I get older.
I get to see what a con it is.
Because it's my life, mine not his.
Well, they say they're going to send me away.
Said they're going to make me pay.
We're sorry but you got to go.
'cus you were naughty, you said "No".
So what, so what.
So what if I see through the lies.
So what if the people I despise
Twist my arm and make me work,
I'm no deaf, no fucking jerk.
I'm no spastic lying in the street.
I'm no superstar elite.
I'm just a person, a human being.
NO YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE A PART OF THE MACHINE.
You're a part our machine because we want you to be.
We've got you now and you'll never be free.
We can even have your body after you're dead.
We can take the eyes out of your fucking head.
Yes we'll take them out, use them again.
We can do it you know cos we've got your brain.
We'll crucify you like we crucified him.
We'll make you obey our every whim.
We got the power, the power and the glory.
I've heard that before in a different story.
But the story I heard covered up the truth,
Didn't touch on the actual factual proof.
Didn't say about the bodies in the concentration camps,
Didn't say about the knives underneath the lamps,
Doesn't say that the ovens are still warm,
Doesn't say that this wretched little form
Is a human being who wants to live
But not in the snot and shit they give.
They say that I had better keep quiet
Or they're gonna douse my light.
Jesus Christ can save my life,
But I can always use my knife.
So what, so what, so what, so what, so what, so what, so what, SO WHAT.
@dumbasschasehickson
They tell me I got things they never had
They tell me go to church and see the light
Cos the good lord's always right
So what, so what
So what if Jesus died on the cross
So what about the fucker, I don't give a toss
So what if the master walked on the water
Don't see him trying to stop the slaughter
Say I wouldn't have to live from bins
If I would go along, confess my sins
Say I shouldn't commit no crime
Cos Jesus Christ is watching all the time
So what, so what
So what if he's always over my shoulder
I realise the truth as I get older
Get to see what a con he is
Because it's my life, mine not his
Well, they say they're going to send me away
Say they're gonna make me pay
We're sorry but you've gotta go
Cos you were naughty, you said "NO"
So what, so what
So what if I see through the lies
So what if the people I despise
Twist my arm and make me work
I'm no deaf, dumb, fucking jerk
I'm no spastic lying in the street
I'm no superstar elite
I'm just a person, human being
NO YOU'RE NOT YOU'RE A PART OF THE MACHINE
You're a part of our machine, because we want you to be
Got you now and you'll never be free
We can even have your body after you're dead
We can take the eyes out of your fucking head
Yes we'll take them out, use them again
We can do it you know, cos we've got your brain
We'll crucify you like we crucified him
Make you obey our every whim
We've got the power, Power and the glory
Heard that before in a different story
Story I heard covered up the truth
Didn't touch on the actual, factual proof
Didn't say about the bodies in the concentration camps
Didn't say about the knives under the lamps
Don't say the ovens are still warm
Don't say this wretched little form
Is a human being who wants to live
But not in the snot and shit they give
Say that I better keep quiet
Or they're gonna douse my light
Jesus Christ can save my life
But I can always use the knife
So what, so what, so what, so what,
So what, so what, so what, SO WHAT
@paulrodgers5792
I was 16 when I got into Crass. I remember you could write to them and they would always reply and send you badges and stuff. An Anarchist fan club, fancy that!!!
@mmac7705
Got any of that stuff left now? That sounds sick honestly.
@lejlatiric7037
Wow! That's so amazing
@powertothepeople3820
Or they'll always invite you over if you can make it.... Everyone was welcomed to their place.
@pizzawhenitscold9013
yeah that's pretty tight, can anyone else confirm they did this stuff?
@TheFaustianAlchemist
@@pizzawhenitscold9013 yup
@franemales9712
Never tought that Crass would have 2 mil views on YouTube...8 years ago when I started listening them im high school they had like 80 000 max, great to see their music is still geting to the people
@TheFunkhouser
Haha nice. Nice to have new peeps enjoying them. 8 years ago.. hmmm am I that old hahaha. First heard them at their opening concert. Was crazy! haha
@travellersi
I still don't get what David Beckham, and Angelina Jolie thought they were doing wearing a Crass T'shirt. I can really imagine Beckham in his mansion listening to "Do they owe us a living" with queen twat and the kids?
@nazielonymszlaku
I think it is trendy to wear shirts like that. I ve seen some supermodels wearing sex pistols shirts. it is stupid. David Beckham listening to crass records is funny