Sean Flynn

Album: Combat Rock (1982)
Play Video
  • You know he heard the drums of war
    When the past was a closing door

    The drums beat into the jungle floor

    Past was always a closing door
    Closing door

    Rain on the leaves and the soldiers sing
    You never-never hear anything

    They filled the sky with a tropical storm

    You know he heard the drums of war
    But each man knows what he's looking for Writer/s: Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 5

  • Mykec, Who Knows His Rights (all 3 Of Them!) from Lexington, KyI accidentally discovered some photos of Lili Damita online. She had 80s hair in the 30s! I had to look deeper into who she was as I'd never heard of her before. That's when I learned she'd been married to Errol Flynn... and later I learned they had a son named Sean. Immediately, upon seeing the name, Sean Flynn... I connected the dots with this song... and came here wondering if that's who it's named after. Sure 'nuff! Wow... I've heard that song since it was new in the 80s and yet never knew it had a backstory. How fun to find it in such a backwards kind of way.
  • Kathy from Gettysburg PaThanks for the info - reading about Errol Flynn on IMDb, saw a comment that the Clash, who I saw perform in college and played much (admittedly) of their mainstream tunes as a DJ at univ station, wrote the tune about son, Sean. Knew a bit of his history re: his different career & disappearance - had no idea about the song, and this just showed me I have it on Combat Rock. Would like to understand lyrics even more...Many thanks!
  • Le Monde from GatesheadWhy do "Sean Flynn" by The Clash and "Manic Depression (Jimi)" by Ian Dury have identical intros?
  • Mikonak from Bay Area, CaIt is great to learn about this song, one of my favorites. Just a friendly FYI, Phnom Penh is the capitol of Cambodia. Thanks!
  • Carlo from IrelandThanks for this piece --very interesting. I had wondered if it was ever played live, and here I find the answer! There's a lot of poetry and atmosphere on side 2 of COMBAT ROCK. This and "Death is a Star" (also never played live it seems) are my favourite songs by the band.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.