Should I Stay or Should I Go

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, a decade after it was originally released. In November 2004, it was ranked at 228 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In 2009 it was ranked 42nd on VH1's program 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.

Many rumours have arisen about the song's content, such as Jones' impending dismissal from the Clash or the tempestuous personal relationship between Jones and American singer Ellen Foley. Should I Stay Or Should I Go' was thought to be written by Jones about Foley, who sang the backing vocals on Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell LP. However, Jones himself said:

"It wasn't about anybody specific and it wasn't pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rockin' song, our attempt at writing a classic... When we were just playing, that was the kind of thing we used to like to play. – Mick Jones, 1991"

The Spanish backing vocals were sung by Joe Strummer and Joe Ely: "On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish' ... We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals. – Joe Strummer, 1991"

Releases
The single was reissued several times. It was first reissued in 1982, with a different cover as a double A-side with "Straight to Hell" and with "Cool Confusion" as its B-side. It was reissued again in 1983, with "First Night Back in London" on side two, and then for a third time in 1991, with "Rush" by Mick Jones' group Big Audio Dynamite II as a double A-side, with a remix of "Rush" as its B-side (see the table below).

Live recording of the song was released as a part of the album, Live at Shea Stadium, which featured a concert on 13 October 1982 in New York. The song's music video from that performance was included in DVD The Clash Live: Revolution Rock. Both disks were released on 6 October 2008.

"Should I Stay or Should I Go"

 * Mick Jones – lead vocals, lead guitar
 * Joe Strummer – backing vocals, rhythm guitar
 * Paul Simonon – backing vocals, bass guitar
 * Topper Headon – drums
 * Joe Ely – backing vocals

"Inoculated City"

 * Mick Jones – vocals, lead guitars, sound effects
 * Joe Strummer – lead guitars
 * Paul Simonon – bass guitar
 * Topper Headon – drums

In popular culture

 * The song was used in a Levi's jeans commercial in 1991 and was reissued as a single, which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.
 * The song's opening guitar riff was used in One Direction's 2012 hit single, "Live While We're Young", which caused controversy.
 * "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was featured in the first season of the Netflix series Stranger Things. The song has shown up multiple times in the series and is a significant part of the storyline.