Guitarist Mick Jones sings a wistful lyric penned by Joe Strummer about suburban adolescence on “Lost in the Supermarket,” a standout track from the Clash’s 1979 double album London Calling.
- Joe Strummer wrote the lyrics for “Lost in the Supermarket” specifically with Mick Jones in mind, though Jones actually sang the track.
- The song features one of the most memorable lines in the band’s catalog: “I wasn’t born so much as I fell out.”
- Ben Folds later covered the track for the soundtrack of the 2006 animated film Over the Hedge.
Joe Strummer and Mick Jones shared a songwriting partnership that carried strong contrasts between their individual styles. Strummer often sang overtly political tracks like “White Riot” and “Clampdown” in a gruff snarl. Jones gradually emerged as a gifted melodist, writing more about personal relationships in a higher, brighter voice on singles like “Train in Vain” and “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”
On most Clash songs, listeners could correctly assume that whoever sang the track also wrote the lyrics. “Lost in the Supermarket” stands out as a notable exception on the band’s 1979 double album London Calling.
“He wrote it with me in mind, which is really a touching thing,” Jones said in a 2008 interview with journalist Ari Surdoval. “Everybody thinks I wrote that one, because I sing it, but Joe wrote it for me. It’s not completely accurate, though. We didn’t have a hedge,” he added with a laugh.
The line about the hedge brought the track to mind for Ben Folds when he covered the song for the soundtrack of the 2006 animated film Over the Hedge. The Clash catalog holds several other notable deep cuts with distinct histories.
Guitarist Keith Levene was a founding member of the Clash who left the group before they recorded their 1977 self-titled debut. “What’s My Name” remains the only Clash song featuring a Levene writing credit. Levene went on to form Public Image Ltd and died in 2022.
| Song Title | Album | Release Year | Notable Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Lost in the Supermarket” | London Calling | 1979 | Lyrics written by Joe Strummer for Mick Jones |
| “What’s My Name” | The Clash | 1977 | Only Clash song with Keith Levene writing credit |
| “Charlie Don’t Surf” | Sandinista! | 1981 | Inspired by a line in Apocalypse Now |
| “Inoculated City” | Combat Rock | 1982 | Features an unauthorized commercial sample |
Another prominent track, “Charlie Don’t Surf,” appeared on the 1981 album Sandinista! and drew inspiration from a line famously spoken by Robert Duvall in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Meanwhile, some pressings of 1982’s Combat Rock featured a shorter version of the dystopian, darkly funny “Inoculated City” that edited out an initially unauthorized sample of a TV commercial for the bathroom cleaning product 2000 Flushes.
