Car Jamming
The Clash Lyrics

Tonight they're closing up the world
The day is ending and the world is shutting down

And sweeping smoke from cigarettes
Smoke from cigarettes is being cleared away

And what is that funky multi-national anthem rocking from a thousand King Kong cassette decks
Loud music is playing from numerous cassette players, and it's a funky, multi-genre song

And then a shyboy from Missouri boots blown off in a sixties war
A timid young man from Missouri, who lost his boots in a war he fought during the sixties

Riding aluminium crutches
He's crippled and using crutches made of aluminum

Now he knows the welfare kindness agent orange color-blindness as he works from door to door
The man is doing door-to-door work and has experienced the kindness of welfare programs, as well as the damaging effects of Agent Orange, which made him color-blind

The violence in the carpets
Suggests that there is violence even in the most innocuous of places, such as carpets

The arrow of his wife (in a car jam)
His wife's criticism is sharp and pointed even when they're stuck in a traffic jam

Drives the slum-bum dweller to grind his hunting knife (in a car jam)
The frustration of being stuck in traffic drives the artist to dangerous and violent thoughts

In homesteads of cigar box the radios hive like bees
In makeshift homes made of cigar boxes, the radios buzz like a hive of bees

The body in the icebox has no date for freeze (in a car jam)
Even a dead person's body is affected by the traffic jam, as it is stuck in an icebox without a freeze or end in sight

Selling is what selling sells
This line is a play on words, meaning that selling is what sells, and everything sells itself

But only saints on the seven avenues can sell the seven hells
This line suggests that only the people with immense sales skills can sell anything and everything, regardless of the cost (even if it's selling a hellish existence)

Fanning the drug afflicted leperizing sword
Suggests that drug addiction is turning people into lepers, further perpetuating a never-ending cycle of drug use

Once inside, the executive never leaves his home
Once a person achieves a certain level of success, they become complacent and unwilling to explore beyond their safe haven

Now, gorillas drag their victims hyenas try to sue (in a car jam)
The chaos of a traffic jam leads to people being helpless and victimized, while others try to use the situation for their personal gain

Snakes find grass in concrete there is no city zoo (in a car jam)
Even in an urban jungle, nature finds a way to thrive, but without the safety of a zoo to confine it

By ventilation units where towers meet the streets (in a car jam)
The intersections where buildings rise up and meet the ground are hot, noisy, and crowded, with people huddled around ventilation units trying to cool down

The ragged stand in bags soaking heat up through their feet (in the car jam
People who are poor and poorly clothed stand in the hot sun, feeling the heat seeping into their feet from the pavement

This was the only kindness, and it was accidental too (in a car jam)
The only kindness these people receive is the accidental relief from the heat as they stand in bags in the car jam

Now shaking single-engined planes trafficking stereos from Cuba
Illicit trade and dangerous smuggling is happening, with planes transporting illegal goods from Cuba

Buzzed the holy zealot mass and drowned out Missa Luba
The noise from the planes and the traffic have overwhelmed the holy music that was once sacred

I thought I saw Lauren Bacall, I thought I saw Lauren Bacall (in a car jam)
The singer is so delirious from being stuck in traffic that he's not sure if he even saw Lauren Bacall

Hey fellas, hey fellas
A callout to the friends or people around him

Lauren Bacall (in a car jam)
A longing or wistful reference to someone the singer wishes was with them in the car jam

Yeah, I don't believe it
A sarcastic statement, as if to say that he's given up hope or doesn't expect anything to change

Ah, yeah, positively-absolutely
An affirmation of something that isn't clear, perhaps a hopeful or positive outlook despite the situation