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 refered 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
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]