[1] Written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones and produced by Guy Stevens, it is credited to the Strummer/Jones songwriting partnership.
Strummer lived at 31 Whistler Walk at the time with his girlfriend Gaby Salter, her two younger brothers and her mother.
[8] Strummer first wrote the lyrics of the chorus on the reverse of an Ernie Ball Custom Gauge Strings paper envelope.
[9] The song's lyrics describe someone struggling to deal with an increasingly commercialised world and rampant consumerism.
The song speaks of numbness from suburban alienation and the feelings of disillusionment that come through youth in modern society.