Holiday In Cambodia
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Dead_Kennedys_-_Holiday_In_Cambodia_US_picture_cover.jpg
"Holiday In Cambodia" is a single by the hardcore punk band the Dead Kennedys. A different version also appears and the Kennedy's classic Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables LP. The B-side of the single was "Police Truck," which today appears in its studio form only on the Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death compilation.
The song appears to be an attack upon both eastern totalitarianism and western complacency. The song's lyrics offer a satirical view of the ineffectual, wealthy left-wing (So you been to school/For a year or two/And you know you’ve seen it all/In daddy’s car/Thinkin’ you’ll go far...) and a brutal depiction of the horrible Pol Pot reign of Cambodia (Well you’ll work harder/With a gun in your back/For a bowl of rice a day/Slave for soldiers/Till you starve/Then your head is skewered on a stake).
Musically, the song is one of the Kennedy's most dynamic. Rather than beginning like a traditional hardcore punk song, the song opens with psychedelic guitar riffs. From there, the song switches to menacing, echo-ridden guitar lines, gradually building in tension until jumping into the instrumental of the song's explosive chorus. The song comes to an end after a long instrumental break (which is rarely used in hardcore punk), where vocalist Jello Biafra begains chanting "Pol Pot" over the mounting tension of Ray's guitar chords. The song ends after a final repetition of the chorus and a final, frantic chant of "Pol Pot."
In October of 1998, Biafra was sued by former members of the Dead Kennedys for not allowing them to use the band's songs in advertising. According to Biafra, the suit was a result of his refusal to allow "Holiday in Cambodia" to be used in a commercial for Levi's Dockers; Biafra opposes Levi's due to his belief that they use unfair business practices and sweatshop labor.
The Holiday In Cambodia-single track list is as follows:
- "Holiday In Cambodia"
- "Police Truck"