"Rubber Bullets" by 10CC has only been mentioned eight times on this forum

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I think it deserves its own thread.

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

At the local hop
At the local county jail

Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

What you gonna do about it?

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 15:42 (twenty years ago)

it does. and it's not even their best song.


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 rumor 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 bullhorn 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

grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

wonderfully weird structure, for a pop song

lukey (Lukey G), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

SPEED KILLS. THE DEAN AND I. HEADLINE HUSTLER. RUBBER BULLETS (vague quality ranking). Who could dismiss the first 10cc Lp? A foolish fool.

Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

Oh man "Fresh Air for My Mama"'s great great great too!

Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

Xgau always loved the "balls and brains/balls n' chains" workplay. I concur — though I failed to see exactly how it should have inspired The Beach Boys. Maybe he was thinking about their hamfisted quest for relevance known as the execrable "Student Demonstration Time."

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

Don't forget about the guitars!!! On "Rubber Bullets" that is. Or the guitars on every song on the first two albums for that matter.

scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:36 (twenty years ago)

Indeed, a very rubber-y tone.

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:07 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

>>Xgau always loved the "balls and brains/balls n' chains" workplay. I concur — though I failed to see exactly how it should have inspired The Beach Boys. Maybe he was thinking about their hamfisted quest for relevance known as the execrable "Student Demonstration Time."

The opposite is the case. Student Demonstration Time was on Surf's Up (1971). Rubber Bullets was released in 1973.

The similarity was obvious at the time.

gt40mk2, Friday, 23 January 2015 17:15 (ten years ago)

What similarity?

A trumpet growing in a garden (Tom D.), Friday, 23 January 2015 17:16 (ten years ago)

You mean that they were both inspired by "Riot In Cell Block Nine"?

A trumpet growing in a garden (Tom D.), Friday, 23 January 2015 17:18 (ten years ago)


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