ApologetiX- Song Lyrics: Should I Pray or Should I Go?

Chart History
From the album Combat Rock, Should I Stay or Should I Go? was a #13 Mainstream Rock, #45 Pop hit for The Clash in 1982.

Songwriter:
The Clash

Guest Stars
3:08
J's Journal:
A reluctant would-be (or wouldn’t-be?) missionary has a talk with God about whether he really needs to leave his neighborhood to spread the Gospel. A tongue-in-cheek look at some of the lesser “perils” of missions — foreign food, foreign language barriers and lack of missionaries left to serve in the United States! I used to sing the original version of this song in a band I was in back in 1983. I always fudged my way through the Spanish call and response lyrics back then and just made up words for laughs (I distinctly remember singing "Fernando Valenzuela" at one point in the song.) So when it was time to do it for "Adam Up," I knew we had to do something with that part. I finally decided that it would be cool to do a list of all the countries in the so-called 10/40 window targeted by many evangelistic missions today. When I finished including all the countries on the list in my spoof, I decided I'd check the Internet for other lists to make sure they all agreed. I found another list that had some different countries on it than the previous list, so I opted to include those countries, too. Then I found another list with still more countries on it. None of the lists had all of the same countries, so I decided to include every single country on all three lists. It was hard to fit them all together and to look them up to see the proper pronunciations and then try to rhyme them, but I knew it would be well worth it in the end just like it was with the list of martyred Apostles on "People" on the "Ticked" CD.
Stats:
Genre: Modern Rock
Length: 3:08

Should I Pray or Should I Go?
Parody of "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by The Clash
(Exodus 14:15; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 10:14-15, 15:20-21)

Calling on God to let me know, should I pray or should I go?
If You say that You don’t mind, I’ll be here till You send a sign
So Your Gospel gets to grow in the neighborhood I know
If all of us leave to preach and teach
You’ll have no one left on their knees
I’d say it’s fine to just stay back
Though if You want me, I'll go pack
Well, come on, not Mexico – there’s no Spanish words I know
Should I pray or should I go now?
Should I pray or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble; the missionaries there may double
And it's crowded as we know
This Indian mission's buggin' me
(Greece, Indonesia, Malta, Malaysia)
They say they want me desperately
(Mongolia, Philippines, Albania)
Is that the food I'm s'posed to eat?
(India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan)
Don't You need mission trips to Italy?
(Afghanistan, Kazakhstan)
Don't want no vegetables
(Turkmenistan,Tajikistan)
Shouldn’t I go with the food I know
(Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh)
(Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Gibraltar)
(Cambodia, Vietnam, Somalia)
(Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, Libya)
(Tibet, Sri Lanka, Azerbijan)
(Western Sahara, Macau, Lebanon)
(Qatar, Nepal, East Timor, Burma)
(UAE, Maldives, Gaza Strip)
Should I pray or should I go now?
(Laos, Nigeria, Niger, Mali)
Should I pray or should I go now?
(Israel, Syria, Thailand, Guinea)
If I go rebuild their rubble
(Senegal, Portugal, Djibouti)
Can't lift a spade or wield a shovel
(Bahrain, Algeria, China, Turkey)
So You gotta let me know
(Iran, Oman, Yemen, Morocco)
Should I mail in the check I wrote?
(Bhutan, Japan, Burkina Faso)
Should I pray or should I go now?
(Cyprus, Brunei, both Koreas)
If I go I'll break my bubble
(Mauritania, Iraq, Tunisia)
And if I stay I will be cuddled
(Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Gambia)
So tomorrow let me know
(Taiwan, Jordan, Eritrea)
Should I pray or should I go?
(Chad)