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Question about lyrics in The Clash's What's my name

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What the hell is wrong with me? I'm not
who I want to be
I tired spot cream an' I tried it all
I'm crawling up the wall!

What's my name

I tried to join a ping-pong club
sign on the door said all full up!
I got nicked, fighting in the road
an' the judge didn't even know

What's my name

Dad got pissed so I got clocked
Couldn't hear the Tannoy so he lost the lot
Offers Mum a bribe through the letter box
Drives you fucking mad

What's my name

Now I'm round the back of your house at night
Peeping in the window - are you sleeping tight?
I laugh at your locks with my celloid strip
An' you won't know who came

What's my name

***

Ok so
1) What is spot cream?
2a) What is a Tannoy, and
2b) Can you explain the third verse to me? I'm not quite sure I understand what's going on

― buyabiznatch (buyabiznatch), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 22:43 (twenty years ago)

Spot cream is acne cream.

Tannoy is a type of stereo speaker.

Dunno what's going on in that verse though.

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 22:47 (twenty years ago)

that's weird...the acne/spot cream line sort of throws off my interpretation of the first verse.
i suppose it's one of those 'metaphors'

― buyabiznatch (buyabiznatch), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 23:13 (twenty years ago)

Dad gets drunk, blows money on the races, misses the claim call, begs the wife to let him back in the house. Drives you fucking mad.

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 23:22 (twenty years ago)

"I got clocked" = Slap.

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 06:24 (twenty years ago)

'...ped'.

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 06:24 (twenty years ago)

cf "What a crazy world we're living in" Joe Brown.

Keith Levene wrote the words, I believe. (I'm guessing anyway)

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 07:06 (twenty years ago)

v3 appears to be the modus operandi of the professional cat burglar, i would guess

― dr x o'skeleton, Wednesday, 19 April 2006 07:45 (twenty years ago)

v1 about spots
v2 about lack of adequate youth club facilities
v3 about dad losing money on the horses and him being in a bad mood, then being kicked out the house.
v4 about petty crime

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 08:17 (twenty years ago)

v3 - more likely to be the dogs than the horses, don't you think?

― TS: Mick Ralphs vs. Ariel Bender (Dada), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 08:18 (twenty years ago)

True. Are the tannoys better at race tracks than dog tracks?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 08:26 (twenty years ago)

Of course, he might have just gone to the bookies. They have nice TV screens and internetty news stuff thesedays. Back then, presumably just bad radio speakers.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 08:27 (twenty years ago)

Tannoys seems more of a dogs thing, there's not so much chance of missing the result of a horse race because there aren't as many of them in a meeting and dog races tend to be over in a blink of an eye. Plus, it's London innit?

― TS: Mick Ralphs vs. Ariel Bender (Dada), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 08:28 (twenty years ago)

But yeah, could be the bookies too.

― TS: Mick Ralphs vs. Ariel Bender (Dada), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 08:30 (twenty years ago)

The live version I have adds the following verse.

Here we are, on TV.
What does it mean to me?
What does it mean to you?
FUCK OFF.

― Ant, Wednesday, 19 April 2006 09:14 (twenty years ago)

Fuck ALL, surely?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 09:23 (twenty years ago)

Just checked. You are right.

― Ant, Wednesday, 19 April 2006 09:41 (twenty years ago)


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