“Whatever pleasures those who get from stripping skin with rhino whip / Are the kind that must be stopped before their kind take all we’ve got”. (‘A Stones Throw Away’, The Style Council, 1985)
The imagery in this song is some of Weller’s darkest. It discusses the brutality of power and authority. He mentions his subjects by name in the song: “In Chile – in Poland/Johannesburg – South Yorkshire”. Weller is not afraid to name them. These four locations were all locations of mass brutality and oppression by the government on the people. Chile in the 1980s was under a military dictatorship. The Polish government was suppressing trade unions and using violence to do so. South Africa was still an Apartheid state. And South Yorkshire was experiencing strikes and protests by the miners against the British government, which resulted in police violence. The music wrapping around all this is simple. Violin and Cello are used to provide a solemnity and lamentation to the already graphic lyrics.
A “Rhino whip”, otherwise known as Sjambok, was used extensively by the police in South Africa during the Apartheid era. It is seen as an oppressive weapon of the Apartheid state. “Stripping skin” is a very graphic image, implying a deliberate and calculated act. The alliteration, when spoken, almost sounds like a whip as it hits a body. The sibilance of the ‘s’ makes the lyrics even more emotive, as Weller sounds emotional and distraught when saying them, due to the level of oppression and brutality he is describing.
And if that isn’t twisted enough, Weller implies that the perpetrators are getting pleasure out of this. Moreover, as Weller says “Rhino Whip” the violin playing seems to almost go out of tune, portraying a high-pitched scream. This completes the lyrics as it almost seems as if the music is recoiling in pain to the lyrics and cannot believe what has just been uttered.
“Before their kind take all we’ve got” presents an ‘us and them’ mentality that is common in many political subcultures and is a call to resist this brutality. Weller titled the song ‘A Stones Throw Away’ to suggest the fragility of society and that chaotic violence is merely a stone’s throw away.
Great insight into Paul’s psyche. I have all the Jam and Style council LPs and many of his solo works (30 something). I first saw the Jam back in 1975 at Lancaster Uni – my home town. I hope he tours the USA in the near future, I’d love to catch him in concert in the Bay area. All the best, and keep the lyrics flowing. Sincerely, Tony