Once I had my heroes
Once I had my dream
But all of that is changed now
They've turned things inside out
The truth is not that comfortable, no

And mother taught us patience
The virtues of restraint
And father taught us boundaries
Beyond which we must go
To find the secrets promised us, yeah

That's when I reach for my revolver
That's when it all gets blown away
That's when I reach for my revolver
The spirit fights to find its way

A friend of mine once told me
His one and only aim
To build a giant castle
And live inside his name
Cry and whispers sing in muted pain

That's when I reach for my revolver
That's when it all gets blown away
That's when I reach for my revolver
The spirit fights to find its way

Tonight the sky is empty
But that is nothing new
Its dead eyes look upon us
And they tell me
We're nothing
But slaves (That's when I reach for my revolver)
Just slaves (That's when I reach for my revolver)
That's when I reach for my revolver
That's when I reach for my revolver
That's when I reach for my revolver
That's when I reach for my revolver



Lyrics submitted by agnamaracs

Track duration: 03:54


That's When I Reach For My Revolver song meanings
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13 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:the fear of living a life that is void of meaning
    Flag burningwaffleson February 25, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I go to work to a meaningless job. I don't feel like I belong there. I feel like I should be somewhere else, not necessarily a better paying job, but one where I feel like I'm making a difference/impact and that's when I reach for my revolver.
    Flag Schr4nzon July 23, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:The cover done by Moby definitely says "sign his name". I haven't heard the original in many years so I'm not sure. The next line "cry and whispers sing in muted pain". Which is a great line, is changed by Moby to "sign it with complete community" which I think sounds kind of lame.
    Flag bhoover247on June 20, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"mother/father" stanza illuminates the process of socialization--that tug of opposing forces--in a concise way. "the spirit fights to find its way," as animus & anima struggle within oneself. roger miller knows his jung, or has at least absorbed elements of that worldview. also bergman? (cries and whispers)

    an cunning master learns how to enslave without resorting to (overt) brute force. in a more insidious form of bondage, the slaves unwittingly collaborate in subjugating themselves. so long as they believe they are free, they have no reason to resist or escape. not even william blake could entirely slip free from the "mind-forged manacles".

    I always thought the friend wanted to "sign his name" inside the giant castle, but maybe I heard it wrong.
    Flag mandcon April 20, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:technically this is post punk. And theres not much more to contribute except there was a goal in broadening the vocabulary or previous punk bands thus creating a more intelligent image. If you like these guys check out Gang of Four
    Flag indierockrodgerson March 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:love this song the first punk song i really ever got into, is spawn from nothin but a bunch of kids in the land before punk fads and fags, who were just some fuckin cool young fucks that just wanted to make some fuckin noise !! YEAH !!!!!! very poetic shit too, props !!
    Flag madehamon February 01, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:The original vinyl LP of Burma's Signals, Calls, And Marches contained a nearly 12 inch square lyric sheet elegantly printed on beautifully textured stock. It contained the *individual words* from all eight songs, neatly *listed in alphabetical order*. How cool is that?

    Also, often misattributed to Himmler or Goring, the line, "Whenever I hear of culture, I release the safety-catch of my Browning," is from a play by Nazi writer Hanns Johst.
    Flag airsmurfon June 08, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:there's a famous quote attributed to nazi leader hermann goring: "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my Browning".
    Flag snakemistakeson April 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it kind of bridges the gap between positive and negative punk music thats why I like it, burma is between dead kennedys and ministry on the musical spectrum...
    Flag shenmue4lifeon August 03, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I don't know the band all that well, I first heard the Moby version of this song before going after the original, but Here's my idea on it.

    I think it's about having our perspectives on life constantly changed, constantly "Blown away" with the force of a friggin revolver, demolishing our perspective on life constantly.

    The first verse is saying how we start out with bright limitless dreams in our childhood blissfull ignorance, but as we get older, we learn the life is harder, harsher, and more intense than simply "Growing up to be an astronaut"

    The second verse kinda goes into how as we grow up, our parents teach us about life, and how it establishes our basis on life.

    The third verse seem to be something about how our life ambitions change, how we just want to leave the world with some great accomplishment, and leave a name for ourselves, for people to look back on and remember you for.

    The last verse seems to be about how people in the real world aren't always supportive like they work back in the comforting childhood days. Some people will tell you you're not going to amount to anything, and in a defiant kind of way it is follwed up by "That's when I reach for my revolver, that's when it all gets blown away" I think is kind of their way of saying "But, I don't have to take that crap" In kind of a changing of perspectives by his own will this time, rather than the harshness of the world around him for once.

    I don't think it's so down as to say "The world is a disapointment, and almost seems like it'd be easier to just kill yourself and get it over with" as much as the revolver and blowing away is figurative to the destruction of our perspectives on life.
    Flag SlightlyShinobion June 02, 2005   Link

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