I like this song, It's another genius work of a genius musician. Most of the things that they talk about did happen, but I’m not sure if the years on the Congo war or the timeline in general works out. The events do, the mercenaries being hired to fight and bring about political action through fighting. The cia being in it's most whacked-out "do anything to stop the commies" phase, which led it to do at least a little just about everywhere in the world. so on the first level it is about politcal change via violent revolutions. That would be the "Palestine” and so on. On the second level I think that the song owes something to the "headless horseman.” I think that this is intentional because the Thompson fires a .45 acp round, which has a lot of head hurting potential, but not enough to blow your head all the way off. So in “the headless horseman” the horseman was a hessian mercenary fighting against people that weren't his enemies, and fighting for a country that wasn't his. Besides that I think it stops though. The mercenary of Roland and van Owen just about all do what they do for profit. "They fought to earn their living" and van Owen presumably didn't just do the cia a favor in killing Roland. So if it's money that they are fightin for, what fight does Roland carry on? The fight to get rich in war? Or just the fight of soldiers and mercanaries fighting because they can and they can help themselves by doing it? They fight to bring about political change, that is true, but really they just fight for the pay. And that patty hurst, the most notorious picture of her on the public record is her robbing a bank. Sure, robbing a bank for an organization that was trying to bring about violent change, but in robbing a bank she is still just trying to get rich while fighting the political battle.
One other level that I noticed after all these years recently is the actual form of van Owen and Roland's respective assasination attempts on the other...van Owen "blows off Roland's head" only to be stalked down by Roland's headless body. Roland "blows van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg". The subtext that the soldier doesn't need his head, only his body.
One other level that I noticed after all these years recently is the actual form of van Owen and Roland's respective assasination attempts on the other...van Owen "blows off Roland's head" only to be stalked down by Roland's headless body. Roland "blows van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg". The subtext that the soldier doesn't need his head, only his body.
@flamingamo I love the almost "anthem" quality of this song!! But on a historical/lyrical note: Patty Hearst robbing a bank "to get rich" -- I don't think so... She was a very wealthy woman. Now if you had said that she was robbing the bank for the benefit of the SLA I would have bought it (no pun intended) -- but no can do. She was a total victim of the mind control techniques of the SLA, and hence held up the bank - or held the AK-47 while others did the robbing -- because as their prisoner...
@flamingamo I love the almost "anthem" quality of this song!! But on a historical/lyrical note: Patty Hearst robbing a bank "to get rich" -- I don't think so... She was a very wealthy woman. Now if you had said that she was robbing the bank for the benefit of the SLA I would have bought it (no pun intended) -- but no can do. She was a total victim of the mind control techniques of the SLA, and hence held up the bank - or held the AK-47 while others did the robbing -- because as their prisoner she HAD to.
I like this song, It's another genius work of a genius musician. Most of the things that they talk about did happen, but I’m not sure if the years on the Congo war or the timeline in general works out. The events do, the mercenaries being hired to fight and bring about political action through fighting. The cia being in it's most whacked-out "do anything to stop the commies" phase, which led it to do at least a little just about everywhere in the world. so on the first level it is about politcal change via violent revolutions. That would be the "Palestine” and so on. On the second level I think that the song owes something to the "headless horseman.” I think that this is intentional because the Thompson fires a .45 acp round, which has a lot of head hurting potential, but not enough to blow your head all the way off. So in “the headless horseman” the horseman was a hessian mercenary fighting against people that weren't his enemies, and fighting for a country that wasn't his. Besides that I think it stops though. The mercenary of Roland and van Owen just about all do what they do for profit. "They fought to earn their living" and van Owen presumably didn't just do the cia a favor in killing Roland. So if it's money that they are fightin for, what fight does Roland carry on? The fight to get rich in war? Or just the fight of soldiers and mercanaries fighting because they can and they can help themselves by doing it? They fight to bring about political change, that is true, but really they just fight for the pay. And that patty hurst, the most notorious picture of her on the public record is her robbing a bank. Sure, robbing a bank for an organization that was trying to bring about violent change, but in robbing a bank she is still just trying to get rich while fighting the political battle.
One other level that I noticed after all these years recently is the actual form of van Owen and Roland's respective assasination attempts on the other...van Owen "blows off Roland's head" only to be stalked down by Roland's headless body. Roland "blows van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg". The subtext that the soldier doesn't need his head, only his body.
One other level that I noticed after all these years recently is the actual form of van Owen and Roland's respective assasination attempts on the other...van Owen "blows off Roland's head" only to be stalked down by Roland's headless body. Roland "blows van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg". The subtext that the soldier doesn't need his head, only his body.
@flamingamo I love the almost "anthem" quality of this song!! But on a historical/lyrical note: Patty Hearst robbing a bank "to get rich" -- I don't think so... She was a very wealthy woman. Now if you had said that she was robbing the bank for the benefit of the SLA I would have bought it (no pun intended) -- but no can do. She was a total victim of the mind control techniques of the SLA, and hence held up the bank - or held the AK-47 while others did the robbing -- because as their prisoner...
@flamingamo I love the almost "anthem" quality of this song!! But on a historical/lyrical note: Patty Hearst robbing a bank "to get rich" -- I don't think so... She was a very wealthy woman. Now if you had said that she was robbing the bank for the benefit of the SLA I would have bought it (no pun intended) -- but no can do. She was a total victim of the mind control techniques of the SLA, and hence held up the bank - or held the AK-47 while others did the robbing -- because as their prisoner she HAD to.