Eton Rifles

During 1978/9 on a Right To Work march from the north to the south as the marchers passed Eton or was it Harrow they were roundly abused by students.Weller wrote The Eton Rifles as a direct reaction to that .The lyric thought you were clever when you lit the fuse tore down the house of commons in your brand new shoes composed the revolutionary symphony then went to bed with a charming young thing,is apparently a dig at The Clash

Specifically this song is about a right to work demonstration in the 80's. It's actually a criticism of the socialist workers party, see on this demonstration a bunch of SWP members decided to pick a fight with some posh Eton kids, dragging other people on the demo with them, but these people they were picking a fight with were rugby players, thus quite strong. When it became clear that they were losing the fight the SWP members ran away, leaving other demonstrators in the fight getting battered. The song is from the POV of one of the non-SWP demonstrators who got left in the fight while the SWP ran off.

Hence the lyrics: "Thought you were smart when you took them on, But you didnt take a peep in their artillary room, All that rugby puts hairs on your chest, What chance have you got against a tie and a crest.

What a catalyst you turned out to be, Loaded the guns then you run off home for your tea, Left me standing - like a guilty schoolboy.

We came out of it naturally the worst, Beaten and bloody and I was sick down my shirt,"

yes, Cameron didn't get where he was today by not understanding the lyrics to his favourite songs. the song is all about the Eton society openly crushing underfoot the working classes. No wonder he loves it.

When Cameron stated that he loved this song when he was in Eton, Weller went bananas and said he was outraged that a conservative dared like one of his songs and that Cameron didn't realise that it was an anti-Eton song. Actually, I'm pretty sure that Cameron has perceived, somehow, that Weller is a leftist (no need to grow a beard à la Castro and appear with a red star beret), and doesn't think Eton Rifles is a celebration of Eton graduates. I'm pretty sure Cameron just doesn't give a fig about Weller's political opinions. In fact, when Eton students chanted "Eton Rifles" (as Cameron says they did), the laugh seemed to be on Weller, and that makes him a little mad. Poor Paul.

How come no-one else has commented on this song? Definitly one of The Jam's best songs.

Surely it's about class divisions and the "Old Boys' circuit"? How he feels his opportunities are taken by those with a "tie and a crest"?

I thought it was about the public school boys that run the government.

It's obvious why David Cameron likes this - because in the song, the Eton boys win the fight!

A very clever piece of music and lyrical art that points to the class divide without overly deriding any section. As relevant today as ever.

Having attended public school , I am surprisingly attached to the first line of the song , a brilliant yet subtle dig at the public school system.....most people might come to the conclusion that " sup your beer and collect your fags " simply means to drink up and take your cigarettes , but in fact, is a reference to the public school " fagging " tradition , whereby all boys go through one year of " fagging " which basicaly involves being the personal servant/dogsbody of an older pupil ( and before we get any giggling from retarded individuals , it does not involve any kind of sexual behaviour ).