Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer (musie.wordpress.com)

A hero is somebody who can use their talents in a way to better the world. In my opinion Joe Strummer is the best description. Joe Strummer was the lead singer and lyricist to the band “The Clash”. Some of the reasons that I think of him as a hero is because he’s somebody who I feel like I can relate to in many ways and he was able to achieve the things that I hope I could do. His lyrics changed the world and gave people who had nothing hope. He used his talents of music, leadership, and bravery to change the world he lived in for the best. He is my hero, role model, and he sets the bar for what I want to do in everything.

Strummer had to overcome many problems in his early life which is very hard to do because he couldn’t have prepared for it. Joe Strummer was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1952 to two British diplomats, as John Graham Mellor. He went to boarding school in England when he was a child and he was quiet at times and outgoing at others. At 13 his older brother David, who was 15, died of an overdose. His father expected a lot out of Joe and he was constantly on bad terms with him because of his grades. He became a musician because he wanted to change the world and share with everyone else his ideas on fixing the problems in the world.

The first album that the Clash put out was a trial run for their raw way of thinking. It didn’t deal with world issues as much but just gave opinions on what they saw going on around them. Common opinions like working for the Yankee dollar (with songs like “I’m so Bored with the U.S.A.), government conspiracy and corruption, culture differences, and girls, were all heavily expressed in their first album. It was a huge hit and put them in the charts.

Joe (totheroots.wordpress.com)

Their second album, Give em Enough Rope, represents how Strummer was trying to change the world. The lyrics went way over the line for the time period and the music that he was playing was more diverse rather than The Clash’s first album. Through line up changes and different views the music changed through genres and instrumentation.

By 1980 he had achieved what he set out to do, which is inspiring. There were riots and unions that were provoked by him and the band. He had made it but he knew that he still hadn’t achieved what he set out to do. He had gotten the youth he was trying to influence to realize what was really going on in the world but nothing was really changing. He kept going and wouldn’t stop spreading his word until his band came apart. His determination to never quit, no matter what, is also one of his traits as a hero.

As you go down the timeline, the lyrics, meanings, and views that Strummer represented got more and more radical and gave guidelines on how to do what they wanted. The thing that set him out for many people was how educated and learned his lyrics were. This is important because it separated him from others who blindly yelled similar and hateful messages who were like him and it gave his music legitimacy. “Well I hope you make it one way, just like you always said you would some day. An I’ll get all my money n make a bet, that I’ll be around to see the end of it.”(Cheapskates, The Clash). The reason that this quote relates to the point is because he is basically saying that if you do anything to get what you want for fame and money then you’ll be done with it soon.

Strummer isn’t the same type of hero as an Arthurian or a Medieval hero, but he has the same basic attributes. He isn’t like the heroes of old because he didn’t shoot people he didn’t care for, like Beowulf, but he would confront his enemies face to face with interviews and through his lyrics without a doubt in his mind. He was also a leader like Arthur and Beowulf. He took part in the Brixton riots, was a profound member of the Rock against Racism group, and helped laid off workers find work. “Career Opportunities are the ones that never knock, every job they offer you is to keep you at the dock.” (Career Opportunities, The Clash.) He also founded The Carbon Neutral Company which plants trees around the world. His biggest influence however is inspiring so many music groups to try to do what he did. When he died, there were around 10 different tribute songs from about 10 different bands. Unfortunately he had his heroic flaw like Greek and Roman heroes. He had quite a problem with women. One time he married a South African woman for 100 pounds to help her get British citizenship and spent the money on a telecaster guitar. When he decided he wanted to get married, he couldn’t find the South African woman and he couldn’t get a divorce.

Strummer was a man who brought many former enemies together to fight against the real threats they should’ve been facing. You can ask nearly any band formed in the early eighties and they will say The Clash was one of their inspirations when they were beginning. He is my hero because his life and everything about him benefited the world and myself.