I listened to Eric Clapton’s anti-vax song so you don’t have to
If there’s an award for most embarrassing new music of 2021, Eric Clapton should be the only contender on the evidence of his latest single, This Has Gotta Stop, a self-entitled whine against what seem to be fairly common side effects of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
“This has gotta stop/Enough is enough/I can’t take this BS anymore.”
BS? Where do you think you are Eric, Sacramento? You’re from Surrey.
“It’s gone far enough/If you wanna claim my soul/You’ll have to come break down this door.”
This has the air of that familiar refrain from white men of a certain age who somehow feel like the world is and always has been slanted against them — think a Fathers 4 Justice group who also play the blues.
Clapton of all people should be careful about accusing anyone of claiming anything, given his well-documented habit of allegedly “claiming” other musicians work as his own.
“I knew that something/Was going on wrong/When you started laying down the law.”
Presumably Eric is referring to the lockdown measures taken by governments worldwide to, you know, prevent the spread of a deadly virus that to date has killed nearly five million people.
Those bastards.
“I’ve been around/Long long time/Seen it all/And I’m used to being free.”
Oh yes, long enough for people who remember — or have rediscovered — your “being free” to indulge in a racist rant so appalling that it inspired the Rock Against Racism movement; the hypocrisy all the more galling given you built a career on the back of music black musicians created, such as the cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.”
“I know who I am/Try to do what’s right/So lock me up and throw away the key.”
If only. Of course, doing what’s right — to your mind — would involve having a set of principles that you would steadfastly stick to and would definitely never ever break.
Unless of course, it meant having to cancel lucrative tour dates.
To be fair, Eric has got one thing right though.
“This” — being the dissemination of misinformation about a lifesaving vaccine — has gotta stop because frankly, enough is enough, and we can’t take any of your BS anymore.
