Lyrics to
I’m Not Down

This version of I’M Not Down was released by The Clash in 1979.

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If it’s true that a rich man leads a sad life
N’ that’s what they from day to day
Then what do all the poor do with their lives?
On judgment day with nothing to say?

I’ve been beat up, I’ve been thrown
Out but I’m not down, I’m not down
I’ve been shown up, but I’ve grown up
And I’m not down, I’m not down

On my own I faced a gang of jeering in strange streets
When my nerves were pumping and I
Fought my fear in, I did not run
I was not done

And I have lived that kind of day
When one of your sorrows will go away
It goes down and down and hit the floor
Down and down and down some more
Depression
But I know there’ll be some way
When I can swing everything back my way
Like skyscrapers rising up
Floor by floor, I’m not giving up

So you rock around and think that
You’re the toughest
In the world, the whole wide world
But you’re streets away from where
It gets the roughest
You ain’t been there

I’m not down

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The Clash has released many songs over the years besides I’M Not Down. The Clash released songs from 1977 to 1993 spanning across albums like The Clash, Give 'em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandinista!, Combat Rock, Cut The Crap, and Super Black Market Clash. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by The Clash.

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About Lyrics and I’M Not Down by The Clash

The lyrics to I’M Not Down are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that The Clash used when the song was created in 1979. The lyrics to I’M Not Down have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only The Clash and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to I’M Not Down by The Clash. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to I’M Not Down" means the words set to the music of I’M Not Down, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by The Clash. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to I’M Not Down and the lyrics to I’M Not Down are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of The Clash who came here looking just for the lyrics to I’M Not Down, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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