I’m So Bored with the U.S.A. Lyrics
Yankee soldier
He wanna shoot some skag
He met it in Cambodia
But now he can't afford a bag
Yankee dollar talk
To the dictator of the world
In fact it's giving orders
And they can't afford to miss a word
[Chorus]
I'm so bored with the U.S.A
I'm so bored with the U.S.A
But what can I do?
[Verse 2]
Yankee detectives
Are always on the TV
Because killers in America
Work seven days a week
Never mind the stars and stripes
Let's play the Watergate Tapes
I'll salute the New Wave
And I hope nobody escapes
[Chorus]
I'm so bored with the U.S.A
I'm so bored with the U.S.A
But what can I do?
About
“I’m So Bored With the U.S.A” is the third song on the Clash’s debut album (known only as The Clash, 1977). On the US version of the album (released two years later in 1979) it is the second song. The song was often the opening number during the band’s early 1979 American tour.
The song is a medium fast punk song with similarities in style to their contemporaries The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. The alikeness to the opening chords of “Pretty Vacant” is noticeable. Joe Strummer is on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mick Jones on guitar with Keith Levene, Paul Simonon is on bass, and Terry Chimes (listed as Tory Crimes on the album) plays drums. The band provides backing vocals.
The song was originally written by Mick Jones about his girlfriend and called ‘I’m So Bored With You’ and shows up in its original form in early bootlegs. But under the steady influence of Malcolm McLaren and Bernie Rhodes, by 1976 the song had been refashioned into a sarcastic anti-American song.
“I’m So Bored With the U.S.A” criticizes the country’s hypocritical treatment of veterans, the economic-driven influence of American meddling in other countries, the Watergate cover-up and the insidious influence of bland American TV. It mirrors the politics of other U.K. punk bands at the time and their sweeping rejection of all things American.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Janie Jones
- 3.I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.
- 4.White Riot
- 5.Hate & War
- 7.Deny
- 10.Cheat
- 11.Protex Blue
- 12.Police & Thieves
- 13.48 Hours
- 14.Garageland