Theme: Guns: Gorillaz "Kids With Guns"

"Kids With Guns" (Albarn, Hewlett, et all., 2006) is obviously about kids...with guns. I cannot decide on which interpretation of this song fits better: A. The amount of exposure kids have to guns and violence, i.e. on the news, video games, songs, etc, and how we believe that exposure affects them, or B. Young 'kids' in the army who are handed guns and asked to use them.

Either way, it's "turning us into monsters."

Kids with guns
Kids with guns
Taking over
But it won't be long
They're mesmerized
Skeletons
Kids with guns
Kids with guns
Easy does it, easy does it, they got something to say no to

Theme: Guns: Nirvana

 
The word 'gun' is heard in a few Nirvana songs: "In Bloom" (And he likes to sing along/ And he likes to shoot his gun), "Son Of A Gun", "Come As You Are" (And I swear that I don't have a gun/ No, I don't have a gun). As in the case with the Beatles' song, "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", the guns in each song have multiple interpretations: sex, violence, drugs, an actual gun...take your pick.

Theme: Guns: Artists Victims of Gun Violence

During our weekly theme of "Guns" I think it is important to remember those artists who were injured and/or killed because of gun violence.

Sam Cooke, 1931-1964. Shot and killed by hotel manager, Bertha Franklin.
Bob Marley, shot, but not killed in 1976.
John Lennon, 1940-1980. Shot and killed by crazed fan, Mark David Chapman
Marvin Gaye, 1939-1984. Fatally shot by his own father, Marvin Gaye Sr.
Selena, 1971-1995. Fatally shot by fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar.
Tupac Shakur, 1971-1996. Killer unknown
Biggie Smalls, 1972-1997. Murder remains unsolved.
Dimebag Darrell, 1966-2004. Shot and killed by crazed fan, Nathan Gale.

Just to name a few...

Theme: Guns: Phil Spector

One person in the music industry who stands out when talking about guns is...You guessed it- Phil Spector! As a well known record producer, songwriter, and session musician, who worked with many famous artists including girl groups (The Crystals, The Ronettes, etc), John Lennon, and Ben E. King, Spector is also known for the Wall of Sound, aka, dense layers of music, usually orchestral, which created a very full sound- a wall of sound.


In the past few years, however, Spector's name has also been tied to guns and violence. Convicted of shooting and killing actress Lana Clarkson in 2003, Spector has not been able to separate himself from the words 'gun violence', especially due to testimonies of other women who claimed they had been held at gunpoint by Spector.

Theme: Guns: The Guess Who "Guns, Guns, Guns"

The anti-hunting theme of the Guess Who's "Guns, Guns, Guns" (Cummings 1972) is painfully discernible; all probably due to the fact that this band from Canada witnessed the decimation and possibly near extinction of wild animals in their country (just a guess...).

Eagle all gone, and no more caribou Guns, guns, guns You be the red king, I’ll be the yellow pawn. God speed Mother Nature Never really wanted to say good-bye.

Another Guess Who song containing an environmentalist theme is their 1970 single "Share the Land" (Cummings).
I find it interesting that a song called "Guns, Guns, Guns" in the 1970s is an anti-hunting theme and not about war.

Theme: Guns: David Bowie "Running Gun Blues"

It is not unheard of for people in the Army to get a little gun crazy. I'm sure it is easy to dehumanize yourself and 'the enemy' in combat situations. "Running Gun Blues" (Bowie 1970) takes being gun crazy to another level. He calls it his 'instinct' to sneak out of bed at night and cut down the "gooks" and even a few civilians.

I count the corpses on my left, I find I'm not so tidy
So I better get away, better make it today
I've cut twenty-three down since Friday
But I can't control it, my face is drawn
My instinct still emotes it

I slash them cold, I kill them dead
I broke the gooks, I cracked their heads
I'll bomb them out from under the beds
But now I've got the running gun blues.

James Madison (The Federalist Papers) seems to think that "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." If Bowie tells the truth, the government shouldn't trust us with arms...

Theme: Guns: The Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"

In many cases the word 'gun' can take on multiple interpretations. This is especially true for the Beatles' "Happiness is a Warm Gun" (Lennon/McCartney 1968). One evaluation of the gun in "Happiness" has been said to be a metaphor for Lennon's 'sexual appetite' at the time. Lennon has admitted the relation between guns and sex: "that was the beginning of my relationship with Yoko and I was very sexually oriented then" (Sheff 188).

When I hold you in my arms
And I feel my finger on your trigger
I know nobody can do me no harm
Because happiness is a warm gun.

Another metaphor of the 'warm gun' or 'loaded gun' is heroin (Lennon had well documented stints with heroin, at the time); although I believe the sexual interpretation to be more likely.

Lastly, in the film Across the Universe (Julie Taymor 2007) the gun is interpreted literally. The film takes place in what we assume to be the Vietnam War era and one of the main characters, Max, is in the hospital due to war (gunshot?) injuries.

Happiness is a warm gun,
Bang, bang, shoot, shoot.

Not-so fun fact: Ironically, Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in 1980 in the street outside of his apartment.