THERE MAY BE OIL!

"The Indian smiles, he thinks that the cowboy is his friend. The cowboy smiles, he is glad the Indian is fooled. Now he can exploit him." These grim words define the political mindset that dominates Gang of Four's songwriting. Formed in 1977 by a group of students in Leeds, Gang of Four instantly became a defining force in the landscape of English post-punk music. The group's sound is a din of dub-inspired bass guitar, bombastic drums, and feedback-driven stabs of guitar all simmering underneath lyrics exhibiting decidedly Marxist political slants and criticism of the English government. The band's leftist views and innovative sounds made them a fearsome force in English music and led the punk scene in a direction that emboldened younger bands to speak out against the government in new ways.

After recently being asked to ponder various post-colonial interpretations of The Tempest, my interest in Gang of Four came surging back. The band frequently casts its critical gaze on the actions of the English government and begs the listener to wrestle with the injustices that it condones. On Ether, the rousing opening track of their masterpiece, entertainment!, Gang of Four draws attention to the injustices committed at the Long Kesh Detention Center in Ireland. During the 70's, England detained nearly 500 Irish citizens believed to be a part of the IRA and kept them against their will. The track analyzes the strangeness of England acting as an invasive force in Ireland even though they are technically both parts of the UK.

The final section of the song:
Dig at the root of the problem (Fly the flag on foreign soil)
It breaks your new dreams daily (H-block Long Kesh)
Fathers contradictions (Censor six counties news)
And breaks your new dreams daily (each day more deaths)


Gang of Four views the English presence in Ireland as a holdover from their destructively oppressive time as a colonial power. Ironically though, they are trying to colonize a part of their own country. The song ends with a rousing chorus of "There may be oil! Under Rockall!," a reference to England's attempts to lay claim to Rockall, a tiny rock off the coast of Ireland that couldn't even fit one person. Claiming that oil lies just underneath the rock gives England an excuse to claim another body of land for their fading Empire, never mind that it's totally inconsequential. The band equates the claiming of a worthless landmark to England's unnecessary oppression of Irish citizens. The country stands to gain little to nothing from acquiring Rockall just as it stands to lose nothing from giving the Irish freedom... at least according to a group of politically revolutionary punk rockers.