Holiday in Cambodia

This article is about the single by Dead Kennedys. For holidays in Cambodia, see Public holidays in Cambodia.

"Holiday in Cambodia"
Single by Dead Kennedys
from the album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
B-side	"Police Truck"
Released	May 1980
Format	7"
Genre	Hardcore punk
Length	4:38 (album version) 3:43 (single version)
Label	Cherry Red / Alternative Tentacles
Writer(s)	Jello Biafra/John Greenway
Producer	Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys singles chronology
"California Über Alles" (1979) "Holiday in Cambodia" (1980) "Police Truck" (1980)

"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side. The title track was re-recorded for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980), and the version that appeared on this single, as well as the single's b-side, are available on the rarities album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987). The cover picture of the single is taken from the 6 October 1976 Massacre in Thailand, and depicts a member of the rightist crowd beating the corpse of a student protester with a metal chair.

The song attacks both Eastern totalitarianism and Western complacency. The song's lyrics offer a satirical view of young, self-righteous Americans (So you been to school/For a year or two/And you know you’ve seen it all/In daddy’s car/Thinkin’ you’ll go far...) and contrast such a lifestyle with a brutal depiction of the Pol Pot regime of Cambodia (Well you’ll work harder/With a gun in your back/For a bowl of rice a day/Slave for soldiers/Till you starve/Then your head is skewered on a stake).

The re-recording of this song that appears on Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is different from the single version, being fifty-five seconds longer and featuring an extended guitar noise intro as well as an extended solo. While the original performance includes the satirically quoted word "niggers", subsequent performances by the reformed Dead Kennedys, and other artists listed here have substituted the word "brothers" in its place. Biafra, however, has often in the past and currently, replaced the word with "blacks". In October 1998, Jello Biafra was sued by former members of the Dead Kennedys. According to Biafra, the suit was a result of his refusal to allow "Holiday in Cambodia" to be used in a commercial for Levi's Dockers; Biafra opposes Levi's due to what he believes are their unfair business practices and sweatshop labor. However, the other members claimed that their royalties had been defrauded. "The record industry has been skimming royalties owed artists since the beginning," according to Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. "This case is no different from blues musicians being taken advantage of in the twenties and thirties. Many people doubted the claims we made against our former record label back in 1998 but with this announcement there is no denying we were the victims here." Record Label Drops Legal Action

Covers and other versions

• It is covered by Earth Crisis.
• It is covered by Lääz Rockit.
• It is covered by Boysetsfire.
• It is parodied by Richard Cheese to resemble Christmas song.
• Instrumental version of it appears on Bay Area pianist DJ Lebowitz's Beware of the Piano.
• At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, on September 9, Foo Fighters, along with Serj Tankian (on vocals) covered the song in The Palms Casino Hotel,in one of the Fantasy Suites. Serj Tankian and the Foo Fighters have played the song while Tankian supported the Foo Fighters on their UK tour. Tankian has played it while touring solo. Foo Fighters released it as a b-side to their "Long Road to Ruin" single.
• Released in October 12, 2010, the Covers of the Damned EP by Atreyu and their fellow tour-mates (Blessthefall, Chiodos, Endless Hallway and Architects) contained a cover of this song as its second track

In other media

• It is featured in Class.
• It is featured in Neighbors.
• It is featured in episode of Druckfrisch.
• It is featured in Punk's Not Dead.
• It is featured in 1994 comedy movie Spider and Rose.
• It is featured in Leos Carax's 1984 film Boy Meets Girl.
• It is referenced on disc Tercer asalto of the Spanish group Def Con Dos.
• Master track is downloadable content Rock Band. *It appears to be on Rock Band Classic Rock Track Pack . It appears as the hardest song for Bass and Band for that game! If you are ready for the ultimate bass and/or band challenge in Rock Band Classic Rock Track Pack, this is the song for you!
• Altered cover version of its album version is featured in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Sample

[1]-2007 Cover Performance