The Eton Rifles
Encyclopedia
"The Eton Rifles" was the only single to be released from the album Setting Sons
by The Jam
. Recorded at Townhouse studios
and released on 3 November 1979, it became the band's first top ten hit in the United Kingdom
, peaking at #3. It is also the only official Jam single that did not have a video recorded for it.
The song was produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
and The Jam, and was backed by the B-side "See-Saw".
corps
of Eton College
is the Eton College Officer Training Corps, Eton being a famous English public school
in Berkshire
that is regarded as the epitome of Britain's privileged 'elite'. The song itself recounts the difficulties faced by the unemployed and lower paid working class in protesting against a system loaded against them.
The song recounts a street battle Paul Weller had read about in the newspapers concerning elements of a Right To Work march going through Slough
in 1978 breaking off to attack pupils from Eton College
who had been jeering the lunchtime marchers (hence Hello, Hooray, an extremist scrape with the Eton Rifles), rashly thinking that a bunch of 'posh schoolboys' would be an easy target: only for the outnumbered but far fitter college pupils to give them a beating. As the lyric put it: Thought you were smart when you took them on, but you didn't take a peek in their artillery room. All that rugby puts hairs on your chest...
The song's lyrics, in common with many Jam tracks, contain colloquial
references to life in England, including:
"Sup up your beer and collect your fags
,
There's a row going on down near Slough"
Literally, the first part of the line means "drink up your beer and collect your cigarettes", though in this case it is likely a double entendre referring both to a group of friends hurriedly leaving a pub, and to the British boarding school practice of fagging
; a hierarchical authority structure in which younger students acted as personal servants to those in higher forms.
With regard to the latter part, Slough
is a town near to Eton. The two districts have a history of class conflict, with Slough in particular as a result of being used for various sociological experiments by urban planners and politicians throughout the 1960s through to the 1990s (a common target in Paul Weller's lyrics in The Jam
).
"What chance have you got against a tie and a crest?" is a reference to school uniform and badges, particularly the influence of the "old school tie".
leader and Old Etonian David Cameron
named "The Eton Rifles" as one of his favourite songs. Cameron is reported to have said "I was one, in the corps. It meant a lot, some of those early Jam albums we used to listen to. I don't see why the left
should be the only ones allowed to listen to protest songs."
Cameron's praise for the song earned a scathing rejection from Paul Weller, who said, "Which part of it didn't he get? It wasn't intended as a fucking jolly drinking song for the cadet corps."
Ironically, in 1977 Weller had said in the New Musical Express that people should vote for the Conservatives
, a comment intended to shock and which later came to haunt him during his long involvement with the Labour Party
initiative Red Wedge
.
He added, "I think I have pretty much nailed where I was at to the mast. But people come to gigs for different reasons: it isn't necessarily about what the person on stage is singing. But at the same time, you do think, 'Well, maybe this'll change their minds.'"
In November 2011 Guardian music critic, Alexis Petridis, questioned Cameron further; "You said the Jam's song Eton Rifles was important to you when you were at Eton. Paul Weller, who wrote the song, was pretty incredulous to hear this, and claimed you couldn't have understood the lyrics. What did you think that song was about at the time? Be honest.'
To which Cameron replied; "I went to Eton in 1979, which was the time when the Jam, the Clash, the Sex Pistols were producing some amazing music and everyone liked the song because of the title. But of course I understood what it was about. It was taking the mick out of people running around the cadet force. And he was poking a stick at us. But it was a great song with brilliant lyrics. I've always thought that if you can only like music if you agree with the political views of the person who wrote it, well, it'd be rather limiting."
Setting Sons
Setting Sons is the fourth studio album by British band The Jam. The group's critical and commercial favour, begun with their third album, All Mod Cons, continued through this album...
by The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
. Recorded at Townhouse studios
Townhouse Studios
Townhouse Studios was a recording studio in west London. Built by Richard Branson in 1978, and managed by Barbara Jeffries as part of the Virgin Studios Group. The Virgin Studios Group was acquired by EMI when Richard sold Virgin Records to EMI in 1992. The Sanctuary Group bought the studio from...
and released on 3 November 1979, it became the band's first top ten hit in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, peaking at #3. It is also the only official Jam single that did not have a video recorded for it.
The song was produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
Vic Coppersmith-Heaven is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his production work with The Jam.-Career:...
and The Jam, and was backed by the B-side "See-Saw".
Lyrics
"The Eton Rifles" as such, do not exist: the cadetCadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
is the Eton College Officer Training Corps, Eton being a famous English public school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
that is regarded as the epitome of Britain's privileged 'elite'. The song itself recounts the difficulties faced by the unemployed and lower paid working class in protesting against a system loaded against them.
The song recounts a street battle Paul Weller had read about in the newspapers concerning elements of a Right To Work march going through Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
in 1978 breaking off to attack pupils from Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
who had been jeering the lunchtime marchers (hence Hello, Hooray, an extremist scrape with the Eton Rifles), rashly thinking that a bunch of 'posh schoolboys' would be an easy target: only for the outnumbered but far fitter college pupils to give them a beating. As the lyric put it: Thought you were smart when you took them on, but you didn't take a peek in their artillery room. All that rugby puts hairs on your chest...
The song's lyrics, in common with many Jam tracks, contain colloquial
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
references to life in England, including:
"Sup up your beer and collect your fags
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
,
There's a row going on down near Slough"
Literally, the first part of the line means "drink up your beer and collect your cigarettes", though in this case it is likely a double entendre referring both to a group of friends hurriedly leaving a pub, and to the British boarding school practice of fagging
Fagging
Fagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools and also many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys...
; a hierarchical authority structure in which younger students acted as personal servants to those in higher forms.
With regard to the latter part, Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
is a town near to Eton. The two districts have a history of class conflict, with Slough in particular as a result of being used for various sociological experiments by urban planners and politicians throughout the 1960s through to the 1990s (a common target in Paul Weller's lyrics in The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
).
"What chance have you got against a tie and a crest?" is a reference to school uniform and badges, particularly the influence of the "old school tie".
David Cameron
In May 2008, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader and Old Etonian David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
named "The Eton Rifles" as one of his favourite songs. Cameron is reported to have said "I was one, in the corps. It meant a lot, some of those early Jam albums we used to listen to. I don't see why the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
should be the only ones allowed to listen to protest songs."
Cameron's praise for the song earned a scathing rejection from Paul Weller, who said, "Which part of it didn't he get? It wasn't intended as a fucking jolly drinking song for the cadet corps."
Ironically, in 1977 Weller had said in the New Musical Express that people should vote for the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, a comment intended to shock and which later came to haunt him during his long involvement with the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
initiative Red Wedge
Red Wedge
Red Wedge was a collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics in general, and the policies of the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.Fronted by...
.
He added, "I think I have pretty much nailed where I was at to the mast. But people come to gigs for different reasons: it isn't necessarily about what the person on stage is singing. But at the same time, you do think, 'Well, maybe this'll change their minds.'"
In November 2011 Guardian music critic, Alexis Petridis, questioned Cameron further; "You said the Jam's song Eton Rifles was important to you when you were at Eton. Paul Weller, who wrote the song, was pretty incredulous to hear this, and claimed you couldn't have understood the lyrics. What did you think that song was about at the time? Be honest.'
To which Cameron replied; "I went to Eton in 1979, which was the time when the Jam, the Clash, the Sex Pistols were producing some amazing music and everyone liked the song because of the title. But of course I understood what it was about. It was taking the mick out of people running around the cadet force. And he was poking a stick at us. But it was a great song with brilliant lyrics. I've always thought that if you can only like music if you agree with the political views of the person who wrote it, well, it'd be rather limiting."