California Über Alles

"California Über Alles" is the first single off American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys' debut studio album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. The song was released in June 1979. 

The lyrics for the song were written by lead singer Jello Biafra and John Greenway for their band, The Healers. Biafra composed the music during one of his rare attempts at composing on bass.

The song is about Jerry Brown, the Governor of California from 1975-1983 (and later 2011–2019). It is sung from his perspective, as a fictional version of Brown shapes a hippie-fascist vision for America. The title is a reference to the first (and no longer sung) stanza of the national anthem of Germany, which began with the words "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" (literally: "Germany, Germany above all").

The song appeared in the video games Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and the Rock Band series.

References

Category:1979 songs
Category:Dead Kennedys songs