Firearms in Popular Music

[Doggy Daddy]

King Crimson

"Thela Hun Ginjeet" (anagram for "Heat In The Jungle")

Song from the victim's point of view of an encounter with some thugs on the street. The thugs have a gun, the victim does not... it is New York.

Eventually, the victim is allowed to leave. Then he runs into two cops! Where were they when he needed them?

Here is a bit of it:

"So, suddenly, these two guys appear in front of me.
They stopped.
Real aggressive.
Start at me, you know.
"What's that?" "What's that on that tape?"
What do you got there?"
I said, "huh?"
They said, "What are you talking into that for?"
I said, "It's just a tape, you know"
"Well play it for me"
I said "oh, no"
I put it off as long as I could.
And finally they turned it on, you know
They grabbed it from me.
Took it away from me.
Turned it on.
And it said, "He held a gun in his hand. This is a dangerous place."
They said, "What dangerous place?" "What gun?" "You're a policeman!"
And the deeper I talked, the worse I got into it.
I talked, I told him... I said, "Look man, I'm not talkin'...."
It went on forever.
Anyway, I finally unbuttoned my shirt, and said,
"look, look... I'm in this band, you know, I'm in this band you know,
and we're makin' a recording, you know.
It's about New York City, it's about crime in the streets..."
The explanation was going nowhere, but,
Finally, they just kinda let me go, I don't know why.
So I walk around the corner,
and I'm like shakin' like a leaf,
and I thought, "This is a dangerous place"

Who should appear, but two policeman "
[ Thela Hun Ginjeet Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

DD

 

[Nate1778]

Mack10 was the group, and I believe the Beastie Boys did a cover on it later.

I do beleive it was Cyprus Hill, that did the cover not Beasty Boys. It also is an original Cyprus Hill line as the Mack 10 song only has the first line, that's about all they have in common. Then "Rage against the Machine" did a cover of "Pistol Grip Pump" which was a "Volume 10" cover.


"Country Boy can Survive"

The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River she’s a goin’ dry
The interest is up and the Stock Markets down
And you only get mugged
If you go down town

I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
Ain’t too many things these ole boys can’t do
We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Because you can’t starve us out
And you cant makes us run
Cause one-of- ‘em old boys raisin ole shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn

We came from the West Virginia coalmines
And the Rocky Mountains and the and the western skies
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I had a good friend in New York City
He never called me by my name, just hillbilly
My grandpa taught me how to live off the land
And his taught him to be a businessman
He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights
And I’d send him some homemade wine

But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife
For 43 dollars my friend lost his life
Id love to spit some beechnut in that dudes eyes
And shoot him with my old 45
Cause a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Cause you can’t starve us out and you can’t make us run
Cause one-of- ‘em old boys raisin ole shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn

We’re from North California and south Alabam
And little towns all around this land
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

 

[jojosdad]

from "Gun Music" by Talib Kweli. I love it because it doesn't advocate gun violence like every other rap song I've ever wasted my time listening to.

I'm sorry - what's this then?

I make the streets run red like a stop sign

I agree with Zoogster and others, most of the songs dealing with guns portray them being used to kill people. Gangsta rap, by it's very nature tends to show the illegal use of guns.
IMHO this thread is not helping to further our cause of showing the responsible and lawful use of firearms.

 

[kanook]

just rememberd "got a 32 gun in his pocket full of fun, bad bad leroy brown

 

[cchris]

Rap music, in general, has the word "Glock" somewhere in the lyrics. Or a reference to a .45 in it. And I was highly disappointed to hear the word "Sig" in a rap song, people have started telling me mine is a "gangsta" gun, and I refuse to believe a bunch of thugs would choose a SIG for the right reason.

 

[Corey]

Two from Warren Zevon, both from the same album.

"Lawyers, Guns and Money"

Well, I went home with the waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know
She was with the Russians, too

I was gambling in Havana
I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money
Dad, get me out of this

I'm the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck

Now I'm hiding in Honduras
I'm a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The s**t has hit the fan


And "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"

Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun
With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done
The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day
So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray

Through sixty-six and seven they fought the Congo war
With their fingers on their triggers, knee-deep in gore
For days and nights they battled the Bantu to their knees
They killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese

Roland the Thompson gunner...

His comrades fought beside him - Van Owen and the rest
But of all the Thompson gunners, Roland was the best
So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead
That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head

Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Norway's bravest son
Time, time, time
For another peaceful war
But time stands still for Roland
'Til he evens up the score
They can still see his headless body stalking through the night
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun

Roland searched the continent for the man who'd done him in
He found him in Mombassa in a barroom drinking gin
Roland aimed his Thompson gun - he didn't say a word
But he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg

Roland the headless Thompson gunner...
The eternal Thompson gunner
still wandering through the night
Now it's ten years later but he still keeps up the fight
In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley
Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun and bought it

 

[TheBookGuy]

Punk Band

D.I. album "Team Goon" punk band from the 80's, featured in the movie Suburbia
(note: the spelling is from lyrics off of the internet, not mine)

Weapons, weapons, weapons
M-16's, and 45's they help your country stay alive
They got the guns but we got the trigger
That gun of mine make me feel a whole lot bigger
Social dogma you think you're safe
I think I'm losing my mind
Deal with reality deal with facts
I've got'em shooting at me I'm gonna shoot back
Cuz I like guns and guns like me
I like guns they made America free
I like guns and guns are the way
I like guns
So your lost in your lost world
With my own weapon I'd rather be dead
People on the streets getting shot every hour
That's what Tawny Schnieder said
Time to look out your front door
Blow that sucker right on the floor
Load your gun and let him have it
The right to bear arms the right to be free
Cuz I like guns and guns like me
I like guns they made America free
I like guns and guns are the way
I like guns
Weapons, weapons, weapons - GO!
People on the street you think you're safe
There little guns all over the place
They'll take our toys and the government'll have them
It's time to not let them oppress you
Time to force your life on them
Tell 'em the way cuz you know it
Tell 'em the way cuz that's your right
I like guns and guns like me
I like guns they made America free
I like guns and guns are the way
I like guns
Remember
The right to bare arms
The right to bare arms
The right to bare arms
The right to bare arms
The right to bare arms
The right to bare arms
The right to bear arms
They'll wind up coming to get you

 

[GodGuns&Guitars]

Buffaloe Springfield - For What It's Worth

Somethin' happenin' here,
What it is ain't exactly clear,
There's a man with a gun over there,
Tellin' me, I got to beware.

Course most of you are so darn young you won't even know who Buffaloe Springfield is/was.

 

[markallen]

Rage against the machine.
" rally round the family, with a pocket full of shells"
" Blastin with the 9"

Beatles
"Happiness is a warm gun"
Beatles.
The ballad of Rocky Racoon.
" rocky had come equiped with a gun
to shoot off the legs of his rival

But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot
and Rocky collapsed in the corner

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Ohio

 

[doc540]

too many to list

Here are a few SERIOUS lyrics about guns

Robert Johnson's 32-20 Blues

I sent for my baby, and she don't come
I sent for my baby, man, and she don't come
All the doctors in Hot Springs sure can't help her none

And if she gets unruly, thinks she don't want do
If she gets unruly, and thinks she don't want do
Take my 32-20, and cut her half in two

She got a thirty-eight special, but I believe it's most too light
She got a thirty-eight special, but I believe it's most too light
I got a 32-20, got to make the camps alright

If I send for my baby, man, and she don't come
If I send for my baby, man, and she don't come
All the doctors in Hot Springs sure can't help her none

I'm gonna shoot my pistol, gonna shoot my Gatlin' gun
I'm gonna shoot my pistol, gonna shoot my Gatlin' gun
You made me love you, now your man have come

Aw baby, where you stay last night?
Ah baby, where you stay last night?
You got your hair all tangled, and you ain't talkin' right

Got a thirty-eight special, boys, it do very well
Got a thirty-eight special, boys, it do very well
I Got a 32-20 now, and it’s a burnin’ --

If I send for my baby, man and she don’t come
If I send for my baby, man and she don’t come
All the doctors in Wisconsin sure can’t help her none

Hey hey baby, where you stay last night
Hey hey baby, where you stayed last night
You didn’t come home until the sun was shinin’ bright

Ah boys, I just can’t take my rest
Ah boys, I just can’t take my rest
With this 32-20 layin’ up and down my breast



Howlin' Wolf's Forty Four
I wore my .44 so long, I've made my shoulder sore
I wore my .44 so long, I done made my shoulder sore
Well, I'm wondrin' everybody, where'd my baby go
Well, I'm so mad this mornin', I don't know where in the world to go
Well, I'm so mad this mornin', I don't know where in the world to go
Well, I'm lookin' for me some money, pawned gun to have some gold


Johnny Winter's Dallas

Goin' back to Dallas, take my razor and my gun
Goin' back to Dallas, man, take my razor and my gun, oh yeah
Lots of people lookin' for trouble, man, sure gonna give 'em in some
I believe old Dallas, man, is the meanest town I know
I believe that Dallas, man, is the meanest town I know
Because you're not safe in Dallas, I don't care where you go
You know that I'm evil, just wanna have some fun
There's so much **** in Texas, I'm bound to step in some
Goin' back to Dallas, take my razor and my gun
If there are people lookin' for trouble, sure gonna give 'em some
I load up my revolver, sharpen up my knife
Some redneck messin' with me man, I'm bound to have his life
Down to Dallas, take my razor and my gun
Man, people there lookin' for trouble, sure gonna give 'em some


Stagger Lee

"Stagger Lee went home
got his .44
said, I'm goin' to the barroom
to pay a little debt I owe

Stagger Lee went to the barroom
stood there in the door
said, Don't anybody move
cause I got this here .44

Stagger Lee, cried Billy
please don't take my life
I got three hungry children
and a very sickly wife

Stagger Lee shot Billy
shot that poor boy so bad
that the bullet went thru Billy
and broke the bartender's glass

 

[GodGuns&Guitars]

Ever

This list could go on forever. Just a few other artists to think of:

Toby Keith - Should have been a cowboy
Brad Pasley
Marty Robins- Big Iron, El Paso, Streets of Laredo, etc. on and on
Ted Nugent
Willy Nelson
Steven Stills
Graham Nash

I could probably do this all day if I had the time. Course part of my handle is guitars, and most don't know this but I was a music major in college back in 19*&$#!!!! Played guitar in rock bands, folk bands and country bands.

 

[Fish Miner]

I only add this because I think it was one of the founding lines in rap that pushed guns to the forefront of that genre -

"..it was a good day, I didn't even need to use my AK"

Good ol' Dr. Dre. And of course other fun lines like "187 on a M__F__ cop"

These songs that depend on the 1st amnd have all been paid for my our patriot forefathers.

 

[Tinpig]

How about 105mm?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-4SRvGUtn8&feature=related

(Play it to the finale!)

Tinpig

 

[Zoogster]

I only add this because I think it was one of the founding lines in rap that pushed guns to the forefront of that genre -

"..it was a good day, I didn't even need to use my AK"

Good ol' Dr. Dre.

Actually it was Ice Cube, talking about not having to shoot people with his AK (like it was very rare) in South Central.

Today I didnt even have to use my a.k.

While high on pot and drunk driving (and continuing to drink while driving) while operating his switches and going on three wheels:

Its ironic, I had the brew she had the chronic

Drove her to the pad and Im coasting
Took another sip of the potion hit the three-wheel motion

Drunk as hell but no throwing up
Half way home and my pager still blowing up

running intersections:

Saw the police and they rolled right past me
No flexin, didnt even look in a niggaz direction
As I ran the intersection

and illegally gambling

Whats the haps on the craps
Shake em up, shake em up, shake em up, shake em
Roll em in a circle of niggaz and watch me break em
With the seven, seven-eleven, seven-eleven
Seven even back do joe
I picked up the cash flow

in between his enjoyment of sexually exploiting women.

*Won't post those vulgarities*

I lived in the LA area when the song was popular and on the radio every day.
He should be proud as such a role model!

I forgot to mention

Regulators-Warren G

Ah the famous "sixteen in the clip and one in the hole".


Both songs played on the radio everyday in the early 90s, and could be heard throughout Los Angeles even if you didn't want to hear them.Both songs glorified irresponsible use of firearms and an irresponsible lifestyle in the greater Los Angeles area, and were "clean" enough for FM radio when that is what most people listened to.



Now California has a 10 round magazine limit and an "assault weapon ban" that includes things like AKs, which in reality were rarely used in crime but often used in negative subcultures in rap and movies.

Great to see the contributions these entertainers made regarding our firearm rights in California.

 

[KarenTOC]

Tom Waits - 16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six
(first verse and chorus - too long to include it all here)

I plugged 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six
and a Black Crow snuck through
a hole in the sky
so I spent all my buttons on an
old pack mule
and I made me a ladder from
a pawn shop marimba
and I leaned it up against
a dandelion tree

Chorus
I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'
Black Crow 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six
whittle you into kindlin'
Black Crow 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six

 

[mossberg]

The Beatles

"HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN"

She's not a girl who misses much
Do do do do do do, oh yeah
She's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand
Like a lizard on a window pane

The man in the crowd with the multicoloured mirrors
On his hobnail boots
Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy
Working overtime
A soap impression of his wife which he ate
And donated to the National Trust

I need a fix 'cause I'm going down
Down to the bits that I left uptown
I need a fix cause I'm going down
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun

Happiness (is a warm gun)
Bang Bang Shoot Shoot
Happiness (is a warm gun, momma)
Bang Bang Shoot Shoot

(When I hold you in my arms)
Oooooooooh, oh yeah!

And when I feel my finger on your trigger
Oooooooooh, oh yeah!

I know nobody can do me no harm
Oooooooooh, oh yeah!

Happiness (is a warm gun, momma)
Bang Bang Shoot Shoot

Happiness (is a warm gun)
Bang Bang Shoot Shoot

Yes it is, gun!
Happiness (is a warm gun)
Bang Bang Shoot Shoot

Happiness (is a warm gun)
is a warm gun, yeeeaahhh!

 

[Zoogster]

My point was these songs have only contributed to antis.

I can think of many in rock, country, or rap that I have heard citing the worst uses of firearms.

Very few are not talking about murder or irresponsible behavior with a firearm, and of those few that are not, most are talking about thier use in war.



I really don't see how this thread contributes anything to the site.

 

[doc540]

lighten up, Francis

"Shotgun Boogie", covered by Tennesse Ernie Ford, bless his little pea pickin' heart (with a nod to Cab Calloway)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaX1NkE3rmk
(check out Sonny Bryant and Speedy West!)

"Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" - Dylan
No one knew the circumstance, but they say it happened pretty quick
The door to the dressing room burst open a cold revolver clicked
And big Jim was standing there ya couldn't say surprised
Rosemary right beside him steady in her eyes
She was with big Jim but she was leaning to the Jack of Hearts.

"El Paso" - Marty Robbins (along with "Big Iron On His Hip" and "Running Gun", MR probably recorded more gunfight songs than anyone in history)
Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys;
Off to my left ride a dozen or more.
Shouting and shooting I can't let them catch me.
I have to make it to Rosa's back door.

Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel
A deep burning pain in my side.
Though I am trying
To stay in the saddle,
I'm getting weary,
Unable to ride.

But my love for

Felina is strong and I rise where I've fallen,
Though I am weary I can't stop to rest.
I see the white puff of smoke from the rifle.
I feel the bullet go deep in my chest.



And, of course, the classic R&B groove of Booker T's instrumental:
"Shotgun"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnhI_ECOAK4
And Hendrix doing it in what I believe is the earliest known film of him playing guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIxswG7d84

One a more contemporary note there is this classic from Robert Earl Keen's "The Road Goes On Forever"
They soon ran out of money but Sonny knew a man
Who knew some Cuban refugees that delt in contraband
Sonny met the Cubans in a house just off the route
With a briefcase full of money and a pistol in his boot
The cards were on the table when the law came bustin' in
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

The Cubans grabbed the goodies and Sonny grabbed the Jack
He broke a bathroom window and climbed on out the back
Sherry drove the pickup through the alley on the side
Where a lawman tackled Sonny and was reading him his rights
She stepped into the alley with a single shot .410
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

 

[3pairs12]

Kevin Fowler Beer Bait and Ammo
Miranada Lambert Gun Powder and Lead.

 

[SteelyNirvana]

Really surprised this thread is still going. Alot has been mentioned and I'll add this one.

Nirvana's 'Come as you are'
"And I swear that I don't have a gun"

R.I.P Kurt

 

[CoRoMo]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Aerosmith's, 'Janie's Got A Gun'.

 

[c919]

Ok.... A few observations...

I'm a chicken hawk hunting for a chicken
Get paranoid when Ya hear my glock clickin
Cock the hammer, it's time for action

So, I don't know what kind of Glocks they have in tha hood, but I've never seen a Glock with a hammer.

Robert Johnson's 32-20 Blues

Actually written by Skip James. (though originally titled 22-20 Blues)

Stagger Lee

It's been done by a billion artists, but for anyone looking to hear it, most will agree that it is best (and most popularly) done by Mississippi John Hurt.

All those old Delta Blues guys had some great songs involving guns, too many good ones to name.

But a short list of classic delta blues artists with songs involving guns (for those who are interested):

Blind Arthur Blake
Mississippi John Hurt
Son House
Skip James

The Beatles

"HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN"

Definitely a herion reference double entendre more so than a firearms reference.

Punk Band
D.I. album "Team Goon"

And TheBookGuy, Wow. I wasn't expecting to see D.I. come up on this list. Awesome band.... but the Adolescents were still cooler .

 

[doc540]

"Actually written by Skip James. (though originally titled 22-20 Blues)"

I stand gratefully corrected.

 

[TOTC]

Miranada Lambert Gun Powder and Lead.

You beat me to that one.

The Clash - Guns of Brixton, it's about resisting police brutality

Hogjaw - Gitsum definitely pro RKBA, 2A

Shinedown - Sound of Madness

 

[ThrottleJockey72]

The Beatles, "Rocky Raccoon".