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Monday, May 19, 2014

Trivia Essay Question: Should I stay or should I go now?



The subsequent lyrics "if I go there will be trouble, and if I stay it will be double," seem to imply the answer. Even though "trouble" is not a desirable outcome, "double" would literally be twice as bad. So on the one hand, it seems Mick Jones of The Clash should go. 

However, that only considers the downside. Perhaps the value of  the upside of going minus trouble is less than the value of the upside of staying minus double trouble. And in that case staying would be the better option. 

Therefore, the question is unanswerable until the song's recipient tells Mr. Jones the upside of staying. What is the upside of staying? Is therefore the real question Mick Jones wants answered before he decides to stay or go. And this question remains unanswered at the end of the song, therefore I will not ask "Should I stay or should I go now?" as a trivia question.









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