Song of the Day 2/18: Chumbawamba, “The Day the Nazi Died”
I’m not on social media but my wife is, and this Chumbawamba song has popped up on her scroll several times lately. Listening to the lyrics I understand why.
The world is riddled with maggots
The maggots are getting fat
They’re making a tasty meal of all
The bosses and bureaucrats
When Chumbawamba wrote this back in 1994, “maggots” was just a metaphor. Now it sounds literal if you spell it “MAGAt.” Released as part of an extended B-side to “Homophobia” from their “Anarchy” album, Chumbawamba was addressing the mistaken belief that fascism died with the last Nazi. Not enough people listened.
This studio version reflects the band’s incorporation of electronic elements into its previous folk-punk sound, which alienated some of their fans but brought them their first taste of mainstream success when “Anarchy” reached No. 29 on the UK album chart. They had a bona fide hit three years later with “Tubthumping.”
That’s the original, but it’s a live a cappella version that’s going viral. In concert they speed it up a bit, drop the refrain of “They’re here and they’re there and they’re everywhere” and sing with more gusto, making it into a clap-along Irish folk song. And they’re doing it here for a German audience.
Chumbawamba might be needed today more than ever, but they disbanded in 2012.
Boff Whalley, a founding member of Chumbawamba and a highly-regarded author, will perform songs, read from his new book, and sign copies, at the Arden Gild Hall on March 28.
Admission is free, although contributions are appreciated:
https://dice.fm/event/53db8d-boff-whalley-new-book-event-with-music-28th-mar-arden-gild-hall-wilmington-tickets?lng=en-US
Whalley’s wife is from Arden.
One of the original band members (Dunstan Bruce) of Chumbawamba created a new band recently called Interrobang. There’s a documentary called “I Get Knocked Down” about Dunstan Bruce and his Chumbawamba years and the creation of Interrobang. It makes my liberal heart happy. I spent my childhood listening to Chumbawamba (they are not a one hit wonder! They have had a long career). I have been listening to Interrobang on repeat during these last few weeks.
And I was just telling my husband about Day the Nazi Died and the maggot line and how it relates today because of the MAGAts…and then I googled and I found this post from 5 days ago! I’m so happy that others thought of that connection, too!
Which Nazi does the song refer to? The Nazi they sing about must have died in the early 90s.
They mention Spandau Prison, where the last Nazi serving life imprisonment, Rudolph Hess, died in 1987, so that might be the answer. Don’t know for sure.