Eric Clapton sings ‘enough is enough’ on new COVID policy protest song ‘This Has Gotta Stop’
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Eric Clapton is continuing to wage musical war against COVID-19 vaccinations and lockdowns.
The legendary guitarist, who has publicly rebuked vaccine mandates and complained after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccination, has released a new song, “This Has Gotta Stop.”
With a jaunty blues shuffle, Clapton offers bracing opening words: ‘This has gotta stop/Enough is enough/I can’t take this b.s. any longer.’
Clapton also seemingly makes reference to some of the repercussions he said he experienced after receiving the vaccine with the lyrics, “I knew that something was going on wrong/When you started laying down the law/I can’t move my hands, I break out in sweat/I wanna cry, I can’t take it anymore.”
The accompanying animated video features stick figures carrying signs that read ‘Liberty’ and ‘Enough is enough’, as well as making other social statements about excessive consumption of media and climate concerns.
The song was written by Clapton and produced by his longtime producing partner Simon Climie. Joining him on the track are drummer Sonny Emery, bassist Nathan East and background singer Sharon White.
The singer-guitarist is scheduled to perform a handful of U.S. concerts, primarily in the South, starting September 15 in Austin. Last month Clapton reportedly posted a statement on film producer Robin Monotti Graziadei’s Telegram account that he would not play any venues that required proof of vaccinations for entry.
Clapton’s public grievances about government COVID-19 mandates and their effect on the live music industry started last year.
In December he released an anti-lockdown song up with Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison called “Stand and Deliver.”
The song urges listeners to push back against the narrative they’ve been hearing, with lyrics such as: “Stand and deliver / You let them put the fear on you /Stand and deliver / But not a word you heard was true /But if there’s nothing you can say / There may be nothing you can do/ Do you want to be a free man/ Or do you want to be a slave?”
