"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 24 August 1998, through Epic Records as the first single from their fifth studio album, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998). The track sold 156,000 copies in its first week and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 1998. Outside the United Kingdom, the song reached number one in Iceland and the top 20 in Norway and Sweden. It became the band's only song to chart in North America, peaking at number 19 on the Canadian RPM Alternative 30 chart.

Background

thumb|alt=A propaganda poster reading "Madrid − The 'military' practice of the rebels" at the top, and "If you tolerate this your children will be next" at the bottom; in the middle, a photomontage of a dead young child under a formation of bomber aircraft|The 1930s poster that inspired the song's title

The song's theme is inspired by the Spanish Civil War, and the idealism of Welsh volunteers who joined the left-wing International Brigades fighting for the Spanish Republic against Francisco Franco's military rebels. The song takes its name from a Republican propaganda poster of the time written in English and displaying a photograph of a child killed by the Nationalists, under a sky filled with bomber aircraft, with the song's titular warning written at the bottom.

Nicky Wire wrote the song's lyrics in Barcelona. He felt especially proud of coming up with the opening line: "The future teaches you to be alone, the present to be afraid and cold." Various real-life events from the Spanish Civil War provided inspiration. For example, the line "If I can shoot rabbits/then I can shoot fascists" is attributed to a remark made by a man to his brother who signed up with the Republican fighters. This was originally quoted in the book Miners Against Fascism by Hywel Francis. Another line, "I've walked Las Ramblas/but not with real intent", references La Rambla, an area in Barcelona which experienced much fighting during the war. Wire has acknowledged that he was inspired by a song by the Clash, "Spanish Bombs", which features a similar subject.

The song was not originally intended for inclusion on This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. It was recorded in a separate session from the rest of the album and was seen as a potential B-side; its original demo was described by bassist Nicky Wire as "crap."

Release

The song was released in the United Kingdom on 24 August 1998 as two CD singles. The first disc includes versions of "Prologue to History" and "Montana/Autumn/78", and the second features a remix by Massive Attack and a mix by David Holmes. "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" was nominated in the category of Best British Single at the 1999 BRIT Awards, losing to "Angels" by Robbie Williams.

In March 2009, it was discovered that the song was used on the website of the British National Party as the soundtrack of an article describing "the violence, hatred, fragmentation and despair" wrought on London by the "great multicultural experiment". The choice of this song was considered ironic by many, considering the song contains lyrics such as "So if I can shoot rabbits/Then I can shoot fascists". Record company Sony successfully had the song removed from the site on the grounds of unauthorised use. It was the fourth and final video directed by W.I.Z. for the band. The song was performed at the Concert for Ukraine by the band on 29 March 2022.

Track listings

All music was written by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore except where indicated. All lyrics were written by Nick Jones except where indicated.

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours album booklet.

Studios

  • Recorded at Rockfield Studios (Wales)
  • Mixed at AIR Studios (London, England)

Personnel

  • James Dean Bradfield – music, vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar
  • Sean Moore – music, drums
  • Nicky Wire – lyrics (as Nick Jones), bass
  • Nick Nasmyth – Wurlitzer, Hammond, Mellotron
  • Andy Duncan – percussion
  • Dave Eringa – production, engineering, mixing
  • Lee Butler – production and engineering assistance
  • Jon Bailey – mixing assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Weekly chart performance for "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next"

!scope="col"|Chart (1998–1999)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

|-

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|-

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!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|9

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!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

|1

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|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)

|7

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|}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Year-end chart performance for "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next"

!scope="col"|Chart (1998)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

|3

|-

!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

|46

|}

Certifications

Covers

The song was covered by David Usher on his 2003 album Hallucinations. DJ Eric Chase recorded a cover of the song in December 2009.