The lyrics reflect the concern felt by Strummer about world events with the reference to " a nuclear error " to the incident at Three Mile Island , which occurred earlier in 1979 . Joe Strummer has said : " We felt that we were struggling about to slip down a slope or something , grasping with our fingernails . And there was no one there to help us . " The line " '' London is drowning '' / '' And I live by the river '' " comes from concerns that if the River Thames flooded , most of central London would drown , something that led to the construction of the Thames Barrier . Strummer 's concern for police brutality is evident through the lines " '' We ai n't got no swing / Except for the ring of that truncheon thing '' " as the Metropolitan Police at the time had a truncheon as standard issued equipment . Social criticism also features through references to the effects of casual drug taking : " '' We ai n't got no high '' / '' Except for that one with the yellowy eyes '' "
Three Mile Island
Three Mile Island accident
London Calling (song)