This is such a powerful song no matter who covers it. Sonny Curtis of the Crickets wrote this song and the most famous version is by The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. This song was made for the Clash to cover and they do a great job on this.
The Clash’s version only charted in Ireland at #24 in 1979. It was on the EP The Cost Of Living. The original song sounded like a punk song before punk was a genre. The song was written two decades before The Clash recorded it in 1959. The song was ranked No. 175 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
The Clash covered the song after they heard Fuller’s version on a jukebox. When playing the song live they made the song bleaker, changing the line, “I left my baby” to “I killed my baby.” Their version got them noticed in America, where the song was released in 1979, with “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” as the B-side.
The song was re-released in 1988 and peaked at #29 in the UK and #17 in New Zealand.
Sonny Curtis: “It was some time during the summer of 1959, and I would have been about twenty-one at the time,” the now 84-year-old songwriter tells Classic Rock. “I was sitting in my living room, about three o’ clock in the afternoon, in a little town called Slaton, Texas, outside of the city of Lubbock, where Buddy and a whole bunch of us started out.
“It was a real windy day, which happens a lot in west Texas. The sand was blowing outside. I picked up my guitar, and I can’t imagine where the idea came from, but I just started writing this song, I Fought The Law. It only took about twenty minutes. You can tell that it didn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with those lyrics. But it’s my most important copyright.”
I Fought The Law
Breakin’ rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won [x2]
I needed money ’cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won [x2]
I left my baby and it feels so bad
Guess my race is run
She’s the best girl that I ever had
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the
Robbin’ people with a six-gun
I fought the law and the law won [x2]
I lost my girl and I lost my fun
I fought the law and the law won [x2]
I left my baby and it feels so bad
Guess my race is run
She’s the best girl that I ever had
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the
I fought the law and the law won [x7]
I fought the law and the
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I always liked this song.
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I never even noticed the Clash had changed the words! This is such a great little tune, would that Buddy had been alive to do it. They used Earl Sink for the lead on the Crickets original, it seems to me they were trying to make it sound like Holly was singing it.
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I think they only did that live though… yea it sounds like a Buddy Holly song…at least in the music part.
It fit The Clash like a glove.
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Got it 👍
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Randy I agree that Buddy would have done this one up right.
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I had no idea it was written by a Cricket. I agree it would have been great to hear Buddy Holly take it on.
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The music is so similiar to him…of course that makes sense seeing who wrote it.
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I’d forgotten about this cover. I loved it at the time, almost as much as the Fuller version. It was such a great choice for a punk cover. I never noticed the lyric change.
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It was made for them…no doubt about that.
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To me, always a Clash song. I did know it was a cover, but didn’t know who did it originally or wrote it. Got a lot of attention & airplay for a b-side!
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For some reason I heard the Bobby Fuller Four version first but I love the Clashes version…it was perfect for them.
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Another great cover – always loved the Clash’s rendition of that song!
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That’s a cover !
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CB fought the law and the law won. Had to get my ass kicked a couple times. Great tune. Love their energy. Perfect. Like you said on an earlier post they give the tune “respect”. Note the Canuck flag behind Topper. deKE should be all over that.
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Yea they could have wrote this song. Yea Deke should eat that up.
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Ohhhhh…CB. What did you do?
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Undercover for the goverment…top secret stuff!
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Double not spy.
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Like Max said, secret shit.
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Bad boy…
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Refer to John Prines’ ‘Bad Boy’. That’s CB. Now Im a good boy and very boring but I like it that way Vic..
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I hear ya’…
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The drum intro is well before its time on the BB4 version. I thought it was later than 63, Wiki says 66, but I’m a pedantic asshat; don’t git th’ law on me for it!
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Two different versions – one a single, one for the album.
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Thanks Obbverse…no they would be after me for putting 63! From the wiki page of it’s release…it says released in 65 but yes peaked in 66. How I got 63 I have no clue. I should have known this wouldn’t have hit before The Beatles.
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Badfinger, I think you’re right. From Wikipedia, citing the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of R&R, The Bobby Fuller Four released it on Exeter in 1963, on Mustang in 1965, and it reached the Top Ten in 1966.
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Thank You! That must be where I saw it and went from there…but when I saw the hit version…after obverse picked it out…I saw it was 66. Thanks again.
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Gotta admit I still prefer the Bobby Fuller version. I like the rockabilly feel more than punk…but it is the perfect Clash song. I didn’t realize the Bobby Fuller version was a cover – and not even the first cover. I just listened to the Royal Lancers version. Sounds like an Elvis impersonator – not the voice for this song, but otherwise a good listen.
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I’ll give it a trawl, thanks.
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I had the date wrong on the Fuller version…meant to type 1965 not 63…when it was released.
I was going to do it by Bobby Fuller but I already have so I stuck with the Clash. I really like the Fuller version.
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I’m kind of surprised they slowed the tempo down for their cover. I would have imagined speeding it up. They do a good job. Not happy about changing the lyric to kill. When it’s rebels/robbers fighting against the law it’s one thing. Murdering a lover changes the whole atmosphere of it.
Fun week of covers, Max, most of them I don’t think I even knew *were* covers!
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Tomorrow’s was my biggest shock…a worn out song but I would have bet the farm the artist wrote it.
It’s been a lot of fun doing these Lisa.
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The Clash are wicked. Man, Strummer went way 2 young. But with many the music lives on like this cover which I actually knew was a cover song. lol You did not fool me this time Max haha
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I’ll get you tomorrow dude…I bet. I had NO clue on tomorrow’s song.
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U did get me Man! Did not see this one coming!
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Good cover!
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yea I could have done if from the Bobby Fuller Four but I already covered it. This one is really good and it fit their style perfecty
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I never realised about the lyric change. They’re pretty much already not punk by this point – it’s more like mainstream rock.
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This is a great cover.
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