Roland, the headless Thompson gunner
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1. Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun,
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with
a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done.
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The deal was made in Denmark
on a dark and stormy day,
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so he
set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray.
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2. Through sixty-six and seven they fought the Congo war,
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with
their fingers on their triggers, knee-deep in gore.
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For days and nights they
battled the Bantu to their knees,
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they
killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese.
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Roland, the Thompson gunner !
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Roland, the Thompson gunner !
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3. His comrades fought beside him, Van Owen and the rest.
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but
of all the Thompson gunners Roland was the best.
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So the CIA decided they wanted
Roland dead,
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that
son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head.
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Roland, the headless Thompson gunner, Norway's, bravest son,
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they can still see his headless
body stalking through the night,
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in the muzzle flash of Roland's
Thompson gun.
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In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun.
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4. Roland searched the continent for the man
who'd done him in,
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he
found him in Mombasa in a barroom drinking gin.
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Roland aimed his Thompson gun, he didn't say a word,
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but
he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg.
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Roland, the headless Thompson gunner !
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Roland, the headless Thompson gunner !
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Roland, the headless Thompson gunner, talkin’
about the man.
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Roland, the headless Thompson gunner !
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5. The eternal Thompson gunner, still wandering through the night,
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now
it's ten years later, but he still keeps up the fight.
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In Ireland, in Lebanon, in
Palestine and Berkeley,
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Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun,
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and
bought it !
(orig.
= capo 2nd) (Warren Zevon)