Protection (Graham Parker song)
| "Protection" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Graham Parker | ||||
| from the album Squeezing Out Sparks | ||||
| B-side | "Mercury Poisoning" "I Want You Back (Alive)" | |||
| Released | 23 February 1979 | |||
| Recorded | Lansdowne Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Rock, new wave[1] | |||
| Label | Vertigo | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Graham Parker | |||
| Producer(s) | Jack Nitzsche | |||
| Graham Parker singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Protection" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, Squeezing Out Sparks.
"Protection" was lyrically inspired by a Winston Churchill line and featured a stripped-down arrangement. The song was released as a single in the UK in 1979, but did not chart there. The song has since become one of Parker's most famous songs.
Background[edit]
Graham Parker wrote the opening lines to "Protection" after hearing a Winston Churchill quote. He later explained in an interview, "As far as mentioning Churchill goes, I recall seeing a clip of him saying 'So all of you be damned, we can’t have heaven crammed' and found it quite offensive so I used it verbatim as the opening salvo on 'Protection'".[2] Parker recalled sending producer Jack Nitzsche an early version of "Protection" in an interview; he explained, "When [Nitzsche] heard that line in 'Protection', 'It ain't the knife through the heart that tears you apart/it's just the thought of someone sticking it in', he was like, 'Fuck!' He was like, 'This is Dylan! That's what you are, man, you're smarter".[3]
Like many other songs on Squeezing Out Sparks, "Protection" features a rawer, more-rock oriented sound than much of Parker's previous work. He explained, "New wave and punk had happened and it seemed to me that I was sometimes thought of as old hat, perhaps an R&B stylist like Southside Johnny, who also used a horn section. In fact we had done two tours with him and the Asbury Jukes. I picked up on the clean and often minimal sound of new wave and used that to some degree on Sparks".[2]
Release[edit]
"Protection" was released in the UK as the first single from the Squeezing Out Sparks album. Initially, the single was backed with "Mercury Poisoning", a song Parker wrote as a satirical criticism of his former label, Mercury Records.[4] However, Mercury felt the song damaged their commercial interests and pressured Phonogram, the head of Parker's new label, Vertigo Records, to switch the B-side to Parker's version of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back".[4] Discussing "Mercury Poisoning", Parker said, "The public liked it anyway and Arista [Parker's American label] liked it a lot. ... I just wanted to put it out as a single but they wouldn't let us. It was silly really because it's just a song. It's not going to break down a whole business—a massive conglomerate."[5]
The single ultimately failed to chart in the UK, despite a promotional music video being filmed for the song.
Reception[edit]
Since its release, "Protection" has received positive reception from music critics. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone called "Protection" a "good song". Dan MacIntosh of SongFacts called the song "wonderful" and characterized it as "antagonistic and blunt".[6]
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 46 |
References[edit]
- ^ "40 Albums Baby Boomers Loved That Millennials Don't Know". Rolling Stone. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ a b Silver, Don. "The Best of the TVD Interview 2013: Graham Parker". The Vinyl District. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Borack, John M. "Graham Parker Is No Ordinary Dude". Goldmine. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Parker Poison". Billboard: 122. 3 March 1979. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Coupe, Stuart (November 1979). "Art You Can Dance To". Roadrunner: 5. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ MacIntosh, David. "Songwriter Interviews: Graham Parker". SongFacts. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 229. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.