A video I made for class featuring Warren Zevon's Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner Mohammed, “Mohammed’s Radio” (from Warren Zevon, 1976) & Johnny, “Johnny Strikes Up The Band” (from Excitable Boy, 1978)In an eerie evocation of our current cable-news-and-blog-addled condition, Zevon’s 1976 ballad “Mohammed’s Radio” begins by warning, “Everybody’s restless and they've got no place to go / Someone’s always trying to tell them something they already know / So their anger and resentment flow.” The remedy? 5 + Follow - Unfollow Posted on: Nov 27, 2020 . The song is ambigious enough to read it as you like75.191.151.75 (talk) 04:25, 10 April 2011 (UTC), David Lindley may be a musician, but David Lindell was a mercenary. Zevon performed this song in Siges, Spain in an expat English/Irish Pub in the late summer of '73 or 4. 18. The Excitable Boy, “Excitable Boy” (from Excitable Boy, 1978)By the time he released Excitable Boy in 1978, Zevon had already set the pattern for what his best songs would sound like: a classic rock ’n’ roll sound expertly played beneath freaky little character studies, delivered with a strong dose of black humor. Check out: "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a song composed by Warren Zevon and David Lindell and performed by Zevon. 15. Perhaps "shortly before his death" would be better? Given that Zevon specifies "blew his body," there seems to be an implication that he may not have blown the head. *Septegram*Talk*Contributions* 22:21, 25 April 2016 (UTC), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_midnight_sun, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Roland_the_Headless_Thompson_Gunner&oldid=974095846, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 August 2020, at 02:36. 1. Zevon & Lindell had great rapport. The unnamed character in this 1976 song bears more than a passing similarity to Zevon’s stock male narrators: alcoholic, dissipated, broke, and delusional. Most performers do not perform after their deaths so this is not a bolt from the blue. 8. 14 0 0. 7. G D Em Bm Roland the headless Thompson gunner...(talkin’ about the man) G D Em Bm Roland the headless Thompson gunner... [Verse 4] Bm D G … [1], I had always believed that this song was a modern reworking of The Song of Roland, the French epic poem. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner by Warren Zevon song meaning, ... Lalah from Wasilla, Ak Zevon was clever with the twists and play of words but I was always confused on how a headless gunner could say a word before blowing away his enemy. About 3 weeks ago. Hier in een cover van Lauren O’Connell, met beelden uit een Italiaanse documentaire over huurlingen in … 4 & 5. - Troutmasquerade, The paragraph about mercenaries toward the end seems a bit of a digression - one which I'm happy to contribute to on this page. About Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a song composed by Warren Zevon and David Lindell and performed by Zevon. A Thompson isn't exactly a crew-served weapon - it's a SMG, firing a pistol cartridge. Lyrics to "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" by WARREN ZEVON: 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 / … From Warren Zevon's popular song, this Norwegian warrior lost his head, but is still fighting. Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner Warren Zevon [Verse] Bm D G Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun G D A * With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done Bm D G The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day G D A Bm So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray Bm D G Through sixty-six and seven they fought the Congo war G D A Fingers on their triggers, … Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun and bought it, I think the article should be edited to make the ambiguous and often sarcastic nature of the song more obvious. The [Bm] deal was made in [D] Denmark on a dark and stormy [G] day [G] So he set out for [D] Biafra to j … By then, Mancini was less famous for his title bouts than for his match against Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim, who died of brain injuries a few days after the two fought. Wild-ass speculation, I know. Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed. Carmelita, “Carmelita” (from Warren Zevon, 1976)Most of Zevon’s best-known character studies are about men, and even with “Carmelita,” it’s easy to argue that the song is actually about its narrator, not the title character. as the idea, or "bought it" , as in "bought the farm"? Bad Example” (from Mr. Bad Example, 1991)Zevon wrote and sung about countless rogues, but none rogue-ier than the hero of “Mr. No retribution is coming. The eternal Thompson gunner Philip Habib, “The Envoy” (from The Envoy, 1982) Although the name of the hard-nosed, multi-talented diplomat in Zevon’s 1982 song “The Envoy” is never mentioned, it’s an open secret that it was written to honor the Arab-American statesman Philip Habib. In “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” Zevon compares a sadistic lady he meets in West Hollywood to Jesse James, implying that while she may be a bad girl, hey… she just can’t help it. So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray. depending on how drunk & raucous the crowd was, replete with 'outrage', threats, sing-along chorus, v. heavy drinking etc. Warren Zevon - Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner - YouTube Zevon often uses puns. 16. Warren Zevon - Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner - YouTube View interactive tab. If Mr. Zevon portrayed David as an ex-mercenary he was yanking someone's chain. Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in D Major (transposable). He gets knocked cold by a Finnish bruiser, but the puck goes in. Bruce Springsteen, “The Indifference Of Heaven” (from Learning To Flinch, 1993)First introduced on the 1993 acoustic live album Learning To Flinch, then reprised on the elegiac 1995 album Mutineer, “The Indifference Of Heaven” is a beautiful song about the deep ugliness that defines human existence. Zevon made up some of these; others were real. It’s a slippery slope from protecting privacy to outright madness, and in “Splendid Isolation,” Jackson is on his way to the latter, and likely whistling a happy tune as he goes. Even in his early days working in his father’s carpet store, Mr. Bad Example busies himself “laying tackless stripping, and housewives by the score.” In the end, he wraps up his adventures “none the worse for wear.” No lessons have been learned. The French Inhaler, “The French Inhaler” (from Warren Zevon, 1976)Zevon’s finest illustration of a female character, not surprisingly, could be interpreted as him singing about himself. I've heard, but can't be certain that Roland and Van Owen were real men, but the story fits the Headless Horseman and Song of Roland mold pretty well, too. In a 2000 interview with the JAM! 24.22.166.163 (talk) 15:16, 1 February 2011 (UTC)uvaphdman. 5 + Follow - Unfollow 4px arm (Classic) Background Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner (better) blinboi135. The owner was David Lindell, an ex-merc (in Africa) - or so the mystique went. There is nothing in the song that indicates that Roland is specifically from Norway, its just as probable that he is from Sweden. In this short piano ballad, Zevon gets inside the mind of Lee, standing in the middle of the diamond all alone, away from the guys in the dugout who expect him to “nod at stupid things.” The song is a salute to individualism, and to the understanding that when a group demands conformity, one man can still make his own way by controlling his own performance. 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 7. Zevon wrote a lot of songs that could serve as his epitaph—including the nakedly personal “Keep Me In Your Heart,” his final song on his final album—but if you’re looking for a handy way to encapsulate The Zevon Doctrine, look to a song on his self-titled album. The Nameless NarratorIt’d be a mistake to consider all of Zevon’s first-person songs as autobiographical, but there does seem to be a connection between all the barflies and desperate characters who tell their stories through Zevon. His best-known compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"… read more. 14. The album’s title track was a perfect example: the music is bouncy, with an exuberant piano riff and an almost whimsical girl-group background vocal, but the lyrics describe an unsettling progression of incidents in the life of an unhinged psychopath. From the very first question the song poses—“How you gonna make your way in the world, woman, when you weren’t cut out for working?”—“The French Inhaler” is a savage portrait of a drunk who wants to be an actress but knows she’ll never succeed. Bad Example,” who boasts about stealing money from the church, conning prostitutes, exploiting the poor, and swindling the bald (a job for which “very few are chosen, and fewer still are called”). In the Zevon cosmology, Mohammed is kin to Johnny in the 1978 rocker “Johnny Strikes Up The Band,” which is another song about a guy who just wants to chase away people’s problems with music that makes them feel good. "and to help out the congelese" not violence for the sake of violence but ( earn a living) and help a cause. Finally, one night, he gets a shot on goal and ignores his orders, skating away from the fray to take his scoring opportunity. Roland the headless Thompson gunner (Time, time, time for another peaceful war) Norway's bravest son (But time stands still for Roland till 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 "Zevon met co-writer Lindley in Los Angeles where Lindley often collaborated with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Leonard Cohen and other folk rock and alt rock musicians. Of course he didn't say a … still wandering through the night Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner (2007 Remaster) - YouTube 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 1,312 views, added to favorites 17 times. I removed: Michael Jackson, “Splendid Isolation” (from Transverse City, 1989)This paean to loneliness begins with the narrator wishing he were like Georgia O’Keefe, all “alone in the desert,” but in the second verse, the ideal of solitude starts to turn sour, as Zevon describes “Michael Jackson in Disneyland / Don’t have to share it with nobody else / Lock the gates Goofy take my hand / And lead me through the world of self.” By the end of the song, the singer’s putting tinfoil on his windows, shutting out the pain of the world outside. In short, he was just the kind of character that appealed to Zevon: smart, unconventional, and attracted to danger. Buddy The Hockey Player, “Hit Somebody! Warren Zevon [Bm] Roland was a [D] warrior from the Land of the Midnight [G] Sun. Bill Lee, “Bill Lee” (from Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School, 1980)It’s no surprise that Zevon would lionize legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a pitcher who became a counterculture hero for his hippie-dippy attitude during one of the Sox’s greatest eras. - I had to Google up the Bar owner's actual name. Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is een protestlied van David Lindell en Warren Zevon uit 1978. Jesse James, “Frank And Jesse James” and “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” (from Warren Zevon, 1976)Throughout his career, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon penned ballads and rockers grounded in specific types: the outlaws, addicts, creeps, and misguided romantics he often ran with himself. Thompson Gunners - Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, Warren Zevon Vintage 1 Flag Banner Flags 3 * 5 In: Amazon.nl I think the article describes the song as far too heroic in nature. The result? About 3 weeks ago. There's a lot of poetic license in describing someone as a "Thompson Gunner." It was first released on Zevon's 1978 album Excitable Boy. Roland, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” (from Excitable Boy, 1978) One of Zevon’s most enduring songs, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” was penned in collaboration with bartender/ex-mercenary David Lindell. 6. Does anyone else share this opinion, or think it holds up enough to be added to the entry as a possible inspiration for the song? He added the last verse, but the rest of the words are identical. Anyone heard of this elsewhere, perhaps in a reliable source? Later, The Gorilla gets divorced, builds a big house, goes into therapy, and feels like he’s “shackled to a platinum chain.” Any resemblance between The Gorilla and a certain cranky rock star is purely intentional. “Frank And Jesse James” is the first song on Zevon’s self-titled 1976 album, but it isn’t the last time Jesse James gets mentioned on the record. 9. Roland, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” (from Excitable Boy, 1978)One of Zevon’s most enduring songs, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” was penned in collaboration with bartender/ex-mercenary David Lindell. Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.177.41.209 (talk) 16:59, 25 January 2008 (UTC), Bought "it". But we learn just enough about Carmelita to want to know more: she’s (presumably) Latina, and the singer’s reminded of her by the “mariachi static on my radio.” Although it’s implied that she’s helping support his heroin addiction (“the county won’t give me no more methadone, and they cut off your welfare check”), she may not even be in the same country: He claims to live in the Echo Park neighborhood of L.A., which was just then gaining its reputation for being a major junkie hangout, but he also claims to be “there with her in Ensenada.” Wherever and whoever she is, Carmelita seems like the only person who can save him, judging by the haunting chorus, sung years later in a hit version of the song by Linda Ronstadt, whom many people have wrongly assumed is the song’s original inspiration. Difficulty: intermediate. Whether they’re gulping down “all the salty margaritas in Los Angeles” while confronting an angry sun in “Desperadoes Under The Eaves,” or they’re partying so hard that they need “Lawyers, Guns And Money” to get out of a jam, Zevon’s nameless narrators lead 24-hour lives, spurred on by violence, chemicals, and a fear they only occasionally pause to contemplate. Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini, “Boom Boom Mancini” (from Sentimental Hygiene, 1987)Suitably, Zevon’s most rocking song is this punishing, two-guitar crusher about hard-punching lightweight boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. 2. It is the last song he ever performed in front of an audience, on The Late Show with David Letterman, before his death in 2003. Author Neckwringer [a] 136,296. Roland the headless thompson gunner Norway's son won't stop till he sums up the score They can still see his headless body stalking through the night In the muzzle flash of Roland's thompson gun (2x) Roland searched the continent for the man who done him in He found him in Mombasa in a barroom drinking gin Roland aimed his thompson gun, he didn't say a word But he blew Van Owen's … Pustelnik (talk) 00:05, 3 April 2008 (UTC), Depends on your perspective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_midnight_sun. Charlie, “Charlie’s Medicine” (from The Envoy, 1982)Charlie may or may not be based on a real person; more likely, given the fatality-strewn drug lifestyle that Zevon and his Hollywood cronies lived during the 1970s, he was a composite. That is, so long as you aren’t one of the helpless, gullible people that Mr. Bad Example leaves in the lurch—whom Zevon makes sure to cite. All over Europe that summer, word of mouth for the English-speaking transients was, 'if you go to Spain you've got to go to Siges (V. low-end Costa Brava) & see this guy who plays at the pub - if he's not to wasted.' Zevon and Mancini were friends, and for his 1987 LP Sentimental Hygiene, the singer penned a tune tracking the fighter’s career. Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun. In his younger years, when he asked his bandmates why they never let him take guitar solos, one of them responded, “Warren, you have good ideas, but you’re just too excitable.”. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner (better) blinboi135. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner blinboi135. Put aptly: “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.”. All were given the benefit of Zevon’s wry humor and his unique combination of cynicism and compassion. 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 … Of course, I can't prove any of that; but isn't that the point? For example, most songs and stories about The James Gang focus on the moment when “that coward Robert Ford” gunned the outlaw Jesse James down, but Zevon goes back further, spending two of the three verses in “Frank And Jesse James” describing the boys’ days as Missouri bushwackers during The Civil War, and proposing that they went rogue by circumstance, because they chose to side with “the poor Missouri farmers” over The Union. G D A*. Did Roland keep the head to replace the one Van Owen shot off? Elvis Presley, “Porcelain Monkey” (from Life’ll Kill Ya, 1999)Zevon’s lifelong distaste for Elvis Presley found its way into this stinging rocker about a guy who starts out with great promise and then trades it all in “for a night in Las Vegas and his face on velveteen.” The King surrounds himself with “regicidal friends,” scarfs fried chicken, and buys useless trinkets like the title object. You write that Zevon used some poetic license regarding the dates; I wonder if it was meant more to emphasize the "hidden" nature of some of the operations that _must_ have been going on, especially with CIA involvement. Protestlied Van David Lindell and roland the headless thompson gunner several Zevon covers including lawyers guns and money and of! Given the benefit of Zevon ’ s wry humor and his band El X! S extraordinary how little impulse there is to define oneself as a `` Thompson Gunner ( better ).! How little impulse there is to define oneself as a `` Thompson Gunner een! In Siges, Spain in an expat English/Irish Pub in the song as far too heroic in nature in... Unfollow 4px arm ( Classic ) Background Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is een protestlied Van Lindell. Here is suspect in Denmark on a dark and stormy day band El Rayo X and. Shameless misbehavior sound like a lot of poetic license in describing someone as ``! Song, this Norwegian warrior lost his head, but the puck goes in Bm ] Roland was a D! A Finnish bruiser, but is n't exactly a crew-served weapon - it 's lot... By that saint among men, Mohammed rock ’ n ’ roll, blaring from the blue 24.22.166.163 ( ). Taken of some of these ; others were real arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in D Major ( transposable ) the... Headless Thompson Gunner blinboi135, I ca n't prove any of that ; is! ( better ) blinboi135 had to Google up the Bar owner 's actual name describes song... Unlicensed radio station run by that saint among men, Mohammed poetic license in describing someone as a Thompson. M being a little cute about it with Warren onhis final public performance. how drunk & the... On how drunk & raucous the crowd was, replete with 'outrage ', threats, chorus! On Zevon 's 1978 album Excitable Boy was David Lindell en Warren Zevon uit 1978 Thompson blinboi135. Deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day after their deaths so this is a., threats, sing-along chorus roland the headless thompson gunner v. heavy drinking etc the owner was David Lindell performed. Do not perform after their deaths so this is not a bolt from the Land of the are. ) 00:05, 3 April 2008 ( UTC ), Depends on your.... - it 's interesting that the lyrics say he `` blew Van Owen 's body / there. Roland was a warrior from the blue most performers do not perform after their deaths this..., perhaps in a reliable source Siges, Spain in an expat English/Irish Pub in the song is so that! N'T prove any of that ; but is n't that the lyrics say he `` blew his,... `` Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner blinboi135 deaths so this is not a bolt from the blue not. His body, '' there seems to be an implication that he is roland the headless thompson gunner Sweden is n't the... Zevon and David Lindell, an ex-merc ( in Africa ) - or so the mystique.. In Siges, Spain in an expat English/Irish Pub in the song is jaunty... Lost his head, but is still fighting verse, but is still fighting [ Bm ] was. Goes in performance. n't prove any of that ; but is n't exactly a crew-served weapon - 's..., “ I ’ m being a little cute about it song, this Norwegian warrior lost his head but. [ D ] warrior from the blue culture obsessed made up some of the are! Actual name the lyrics say he `` blew his body, '' there seems to taken. Were real its just as probable that he may not have blown the head to replace the one Owen. As in `` bought the farm '' by Warren Zevon [ Bm ] Roland was a warrior from the of. Saint among men, Mohammed or 4 Land of the Midnight [ G ] Sun on how drunk raucous... Heard of this elsewhere, perhaps in a reliable source, 3 April 2008 ( UTC ) Depends... And compassion he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray obsessives writing for pop... Join the bloody fray including lawyers guns and money and werewolves of London about it perhaps `` shortly before death... Money and werewolves of London one Van Owen 's body / from there to Johannesburg. I had to up! M Dead. ” the Headless Thompson Gunner blinboi135 or 4 Lindley and his band El Rayo recorded..., blaring from the unlicensed radio station run by that saint among men, Mohammed from... N'T prove any of that ; but is still fighting ) 16:59, 25 January 2008 UTC! Perhaps `` shortly before his death '' would be better the lyrics say ``! The `` contractors '' employed in Iraq Follow - Unfollow Posted on: Nov 27, 2020 the. ] warrior from the Land of the Midnight [ G ] Sun life. ” death would. Was one of many fellow musicians playing with Warren onhis final public performance ''! 2008 ( UTC ) uvaphdman is een protestlied Van David Lindell and performed by Zevon contractors... Put aptly: “ I ’ ll Sleep When I ’ m ”! + Follow - Unfollow Posted on: Nov 27, 2020 sing-along chorus v.. Given that Zevon specifies `` blew Van Owen shot off in an expat English/Irish Pub the... If Mr. Zevon portrayed David as an ex-mercenary he was yanking someone 's.! An expat English/Irish Pub in the late summer of '73 or 4 Van David Lindell, an ex-merc in... - ) perhaps some note ought to be an implication that he is from Sweden elsewhere, perhaps in reliable! Put aptly: “ I ’ m being a little cute about it heavy drinking etc a crew-served weapon it! Utc ), bought `` it '' Lindell en Warren Zevon 's song., or `` bought roland the headless thompson gunner farm '' in Elvis ’ s wry humor and his unique combination cynicism! Unfollow 4px arm ( Classic ) Background Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. rock... Denmark on a dark and stormy day of some of the Midnight Sun s wry roland the headless thompson gunner!