The title of this song is a reference to a movie named Angels With Dirty Faces, where Humphrey Bogart gets locked up. It was written by Humble Pie lead singer Steve Marriott and is one of the band's most popular songs.
Originally released in late 1972, it gained minor airplay but failed to chart. It was later featured on the album Smokin' and remains one of the group's most popular tracks.
Robbie Robertson, who co-wrote the song with bass player Lonnie Mack, claimed that it was influenced by the surrealist movies of Luis Bunuel. Its lyrical composition is very exciting and has a number of double and triple meanings.
It also includes a number of references to Nazareth, an ancient city in Israel where Jesus once resided. It is said that these references are intended to have a deeper meaning.
However, to this day no one really knows what the song is trying to say and it is still considered a fairly cryptic piece of music. Nevertheless, it is still a classic and has been interpreted as an anthem for resistance by several artists over the years, including Miley Cryus in 2018.
Another song that has been described as a "cry for resistance" is Sweet Home Alabama from Nine Inch Nails. Although it was originally sworn to be apolitical by its author, the song has since become the ideal anthem of resistance in this era.
