The Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go is a classic for a reason

Posted Dec. 18, 2022

By Ava McRae

Cub Reporter

Should I Stay or Should I Go, a 1982 punk rock song written, produced, and performed by the English punk rock band The Clash, is a classic for a reason.

Should I Stay or Should I Go was released on the album Combat Rock, and became the artists’ only number-one single in 1991. Since then, the song has been featured in a variety of different movies, TV shows, and even online advertisements, most recently and most notably in Netflix’s Stranger Things, bringing the classic back to life once again. In 2004, the song was listed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song didn’t reach the top charts just because of the media, though. The song’s playful rhythm is what kept listeners coming back again and again, and what caught their attention at first listen. The ability to put listeners in a good mood purely through rhythm is a difficult thing for artists to master, but The Clash managed it effortlessly. Throughout the song, there’s constant music in the background, but the guitar is echoed after each spoken line, emphasizing each lyric individually. This emphasis is what makes the song’s rhythm unforgettable, and creates the impression that the artists were genuinely having fun while making it.

The lyrics were another main component of the song's success, working in perfect harmony with the rhythm. The song’s lyrics are very repetitive, with the same lines repeated in nearly every verse, but this just makes the song more memorable to listeners. Since the rhythm is simple, making the lyrics complicated wouldn’t have fit with the nature of the song, making simple, repetitive lyrics the best choice.

In the end, Should I Stay or Should I Go is truly deserving of its top-charter status, and no matter a listener’s feeling about the song, they’d have to admit that it masters the art of rhythm perfectly.