Celebrate The Bullet



All of this week's posts are going to be of the '80s flashback variety - a bunch of old records ripped into the digital age for you to enjoy. To start things off in banging style I offer the title track from the 2-Tone ska combo The Selecter's second LP, 1981's Celebrate The Bullet. Singer Pauline Black has said that Celebrate The Bullet is her favorite Selecter song. I love it too. It's a mid tempo reggae rocker with some gloriously twangy guitar, great stretchy basslines, punchy horns and plenty of atmosphere. It was released in close proximity to the assassination attempt on then US President Ronald Reagan (coincidentally the same year that The Pope and John Lennon were shot), so as a result it got banned by the BBC - despite it's anti violence message. I think this tune holds up pretty well today, and it's message still rings true too!

Celebrate the bullet,
Put your finger on the trigger,
But you don’t have to pull it,
'Cos you know it won’t bring them,
Back to you, back to you.

Celebrate the bullet,
But you have to snigger,
You told ‘em all to shove it,
‘Cos you know it won’t bring them,
Back to you, back to you.

(Chorus):
Celebrate the bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet,
Celebrate the bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet,
Celebrate the bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet,
Celebrate the bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet,

Celebrate the bullet,
Put your finger on the trigger,
But you don’t have to pull it,
‘Cos you know it won’t bring them
Back to you, back to you.

Celebrate the bullet,
It all seems to get much bigger,
Do you really have to prove it,
‘Cos you know it won’t bring them,
Back to you, back to you.