Coverinfo
Bruce covered the song 4 times :
2009-10-29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the first of the two Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25th anniversary concerts. The song featured a guest appearance by Tom Morello.
Played during 'working on a dream tour' in Hyde Park London
first ever E Street Band performance of "London Calling" during the 'working a dream tour' . The song was played by a sign request.
Played at the 45th Grammy Awards ceremony. Bruce performs with Little Steven, Elvis Costello, and Dave Grohl on "London Calling" as part of a tribute to the Clash and Joe Strummer .
Songinfo
"
London Calling" is a song by the British punk rock band the Clash. It was released as a single from the band's 1979 double album London Calling. The title alludes to the BBC World Service's station identification: "This is London calling ...", which was used during World War II, often in broadcasts to occupied countries. The lyrics reflect the concern felt by Strummer about world events with the reference to "a nuclear error" to the incident at Three Mile Island, which occurred earlier in 1979.
Bruce on the artist
It turned out that Clash frontman Joe Strummer was a huge Springsteen fan.
"Bruce is great," Strummer wrote in a 1995 fax to Mojo. "If you don't agree you're a pretentious martian from Venus. His music is great on a dark, rainy morning in England, just when you need some spirit and some proof that the big wide world exists."
The admiration worked both ways, and when Strummer died in 2002 Springsteen was more than happy to honor him furing the Grammy telecast with a killer performance of "
London Calling" alongside Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl and Steve Van Zandt.
Lyrics
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
'Cept for the ring of that truncheon thing
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I live by the river
(London calling) to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go at it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out and draw another breath
London calling and I don't wanna shout
But while we were talking I saw you running out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, I live by the river
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, I live by the river
Now get this!
London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling
I never felt so much alive, alive, alive, alive... [fades out]