Wish I Was Back in El Salvador
1989 · Alternative Tentacles VIRUS · Colorado
- Artist
- Jello Biafra With D.O.A.
- Title
- Wish I Was Back in El Salvador
- Release
- Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors
- Year
- 1989
- Label
- Alternative Tentacles # VIRUS
- Format
- Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- Colorado, USA
- Genre
- Punk · Hardcore Punk
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
The hardcore punk song "Wish I Was Back in El Salvador" (Alternative Tentacles # VIRUS 78), which dealt with police violence, referenced the Kent State killings. Jello Biafra, from Colorado, US, known for his satirical, spoken-word and punk records throughout the 80s and 90s, wrote the song, and recorded and released it in collaboration with the Vancouver, Canadian punk group D.O.A. The narrator took the role of a former gang member, who later joined the marines. After being discharged, he "got an offer from the police" because he had the correct skills to become a member of the "government's official gang". The police officer then encountered a demonstration and a hostile crowd. The police officer looked forward to the TV cameras moving away, when "we'll fire away". He said that this would "make my day just like good ol' Kent State". The song title referred to US involvement in the Salvadoran Civil War, under the Carter and Reagan administrations.& Vietnam War: Punk Songs
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Kent / Jackson State Songs
The hardcore punk song "Wish I Was Back in El Salvador" (Alternative Tentacles # VIRUS 78), which dealt with police violence, referenced the Kent State killings. Jello Biafra, from Colorado, US, known for his satirical, spoken-word and punk records throughout the 80s and 90s, including membership of the band Dead Kennedys, wrote the song, and recorded and released it in collaboration with the Vancouver, Canadian punk group D.O.A. The narrator took the role of a former gang member, who later joined the marines. After being discharged, he "got an offer from the police" because he had the correct skills to become a member of the "government's official gang". The police officer then encountered a demonstration and a hostile crowd. The police officer looked forward to the TV cameras moving away, when "we'll fire away". He said that this would "make my day just like good ol' Kent State". The song title referred to US involvement in the Salvadoran Civil War, under the Carter and Reagan administrations.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Punk Songs
Jello Biafra, from Colorado, US, known for his satirical, spoken-word and punk records throughout the 80s and 90s, including membership of the well-known Hardcore Punk group Dead Kennedys. He released two spoken-word tracks as a solo artist regarding the Vietnam War: "Vietnam Never Happened" (1987) and "Die for Oil, Sucker" (1991). He also released the song "Wish I Was Back in El Salvador" (1989) which referenced the Vietnam War, in collaboration with Hardcore Punk group D.O.A.. With the Dead Kennedys, he released the Vietnam-related songs "Holiday in Cambodia" (1980) and "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" (1981). The Hardcore Punk song "Wish I Was Back in El Salvador" (Alternative Tentacles # VIRUS 78), which dealt with police violence, referenced the Kent State killings. Jello Biafra wrote the song, and recorded and released it in collaboration with the Vancouver, Canadian punk group D.O.A. The narrator took the role of a former gang member, who later joined the marines. After being discharged, he "got an offer from the police" because he had the correct skills to become a member of the "government's official gang". The police officer then encountered a demonstration and a hostile crowd. The police officer looked forward to the TV cameras moving away, when "we'll fire away". He said that this would "make my day just like good ol' Kent State". The song title referred to US involvement in the Salvadoran Civil War, under the Carter and Reagan administrations.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Used to be in a gang 'till I beat a kid half dead in a video arcade / Judge gave me a choice: jail or the marines, best time I ever had / Was being an MP, aw yeah, I wish I was down in El Salvador / Where I could jerk off with my gun and kill the poor / More gang busts after I'm discharged, got an offer from police / Surprise! We'll wipe your record clean if you'll become one of us / You've got just the skills we need for the government's official gang... / People are storming out into the streets, people are pouring out... / They hate me, they hate me, I just might have to defend myself / Now! It's party time...I look at you and smolder with my nightstick / And my shield, little kids throw rocks at me, their moms call me a pig / Commander says I gotta hold the line 'til the TV cameras leave / Then we'll fire away, make my day just like good ol' Kent State
About the artist
Collaboration of Jello Biafra (b. 1958, Boulder, Colorado) with Canadian punk band D.O.A. (formed 1978, Vancouver), on 'Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors' (1990). [Source: Wikipedia]