‘Rubber Bullets’ is the song from the album that everybody knows and is 10cc’s ‘breakthrough’ template song much more than ‘Donna’ ever was, a scathing piece of rocky pop that is sweet and vague enough to get played on radio but angry and taunting enough to make it lots of fans. The song was inspired partly by ‘Jailhouse Rock’ (after the Beatles and Beach Boys cribs on ‘Donna’ and ‘The Dean and I’ worked so well) but also the many prison riots of the early 1970s and (depending which band member you listen to) the riots against British rule in Ireland where the army really did use rubber bullets to subdue the protestors across 1972. Oddly the BBC, so over-cautious about banning any reference to Ireland that year let this song through but it was banned in Persia of all places when riots broke out there and citizens began to take up the song. Once again 10cc take a source usually regarded as pure and innocent and hold it up to the light to contrast it against the harsh realities of the world. Creme’s angry vocal is probably the best of his long career, dripping with venom at those who dare to hurt others and stop them enjoying themselves or standing up for their ideals, although thankfully this song never reduces itself by preaching or pretending to know better than the perpetrators. The ‘party’ in the song is also surely a metaphor for everybody whose ever been stopped from having a good time by the law (and is a close cousin of Lindisfarne’s ‘We Can Swing Together’, whose characters also find themselves in the dock at the end of the song) and what the song is really saying is that the powers that be can’t bear to watch us having a better time than they are. Especially when it’s the people in power who are abusing it who should be locked up in the first place (and Uncle Sam belongs in the exercise yard!) Even Gouldman’s seemingly innocuous rejoinders throughout the song, added when Godley-Creme asked him to give their song an extra something ‘special’ (‘whatcha gonna do about it, whatcha gonna do?’) sound pretty harsh by the end, really drawing a line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ (the ‘balls and brains’ line is also gentlemanly Graham’s, oddly enough, even though everybody assumes it to be a risqué Lol line). Things aren’t helped by the ineffectual prison priest who tries to diffuse the situation in the guise of Kevin Godley, little realizing that he’s preaching to the wrong side and trying to calm down a party rather than an irate establishment who have nothing to be angry about (Jesus, surely, would be on the aside of the party animals). Even without the political overtones, however, this is simply a great rock song with an urgent bass riff superbly played twice over in stereo by Gouldman and some classy guitarwork which has l3eft many players scratching their heads over the years (Eric says he recorded a second solo at half-speed, lining it up with the first for an ‘extra’ whine, which must have been murder to play). The result is a song which sucks you in from the dramatic opening and doesn’t let you go until the fadeout. The album version also has a treat for fans who only know the song from the single, adding a further minute to the solo at the end where Eric Stewart excels himself on his retro solo which channels all the grief and hurt of the lyrics without sacrificing the tune or pop hooks, his anger truly spilling over. The result is a staggering pop song, one that pretty much invented our beloved website phrase of ‘catchy but deep’ and sadly as relevant today as it was back then. A deserved #1 and one of the all-time great songs in the 10cc canon.
lyrics
I went to a party at the local county jail
All the cons were dancing and the band began to wail
But the guys were indiscreet
They were brawling in the street
At the local dance at the local county jail
Well the band were playing
And the booze began to flow
But the sound came over on the police car radio
Down at Precinct 49
Having a tear-gas of a time
Sergeant Baker got a call from the governor of the county jail
Load up, load up, load up with rubber bullets
Load up, load up, load up with rubber bullets
I love to hear those convicts squeal
It's a shame these slugs ain't real
But we can't have dancin' at the local county jail
Sergeant Baker and his men made a bee-line for the jail
And for miles around
You could hear the sirens wail
There's a rumour goin' round death row
That a fuse is gonna blow
At the local hop at the local county jail
Whatcha gonna do about it, whatcha gonna do
Whatcha gonna do about it, whatcha gonna do
Sergeant Baker started talkin'
With a ballpoint in his hand
He was cool, he was clear
He was always in command
He said "Blood will flow;
Here Padre
Padre you talk to your boys..."
"Trust in me -
God will come to set you free"
Well we don't understand
Why you called in the National Guard
When Uncle Sam is the one
Who belongs in the exercise yard
We all got balls and brains
But some's got balls and chains
At the local dance at the local county jail
Load up, load up, load up with rubber bullets
Load up, load up, load up with rubber bullets
Is it really such a crime
For a guy to spend his time
At the local dance at the local county jail
At the local dance at the local county jail
Whatcha gonna do about it, whatcha gonna do
Whatcha gonna do about it, whatcha gonna do
This is a musical tribute to 10cc, both originals and remakes. Here is the story about the original line-up from the
original band: 10cc are an English rock band founded in Stockport, England, who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme....more
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