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[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

"Composer Robert Smith has said that the song "was a short poetic attempt at condensing my impression of the key moments in L'Étranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus".[2] The lyrics describe a shooting on a beach, in which the Arab of the title is killed by the song's narrator; in Camus' story the protagonist, Meursault, shoots an Arab on a beach, overwhelmed by his surroundings. Meursault is condemned for his honesty about his feelings. He is considered an outsider (or "stranger") because "he refuses to lie" and "doesn't play the game"."

sauce

The song is then followed by "Fire in Cairo". A lot of "popular hits" at the time had strong political messages, people just didn't realize, like The Clash - Rock the Casbah