How do these stories with just the slightest grain of truth get started? Warren was not a mercenary. In the mid '70's, he moved to Sitges, Spain. He wound up living and playing regularly at a bar called "The Dubliner". It was owned by a character named David Lindell. Now, Lindell was a former mercenary. Together they wrote , "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner". As far as the final line that reads, " Patty Hearst
heard the burst of Roland's Thompson Gun and bought it. I believe "...and bought it" means that after she was kidnapped by the guerrilla group "The Symbionese Liberation Army", she literally "bought it". She "bought it" in the sense of adopting the SLA's beliefs and philosophies. She definitely had not "bought it" in the sense of "buying the farm" or "dying in battle" as some have alluded to. She took part in a bank robbery at the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. She wielded a M1 carbine during the robbery. Later she assumed the pseudonym 'Tania' after Che Guevara's closest female confidant. Psychiatrists said she was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. She was sentenced to 35 years in jail, but her sentence was commuted by Jimmy Carter and she was released from jail after serving a mere 22 months. She was later given a full pardon by Bill Clinton. Most of all, what a great song.
Thanks for all the info! One small thing, though is your interpretation of the "bought it" comment, which I think I take even more literally than you do. I always thought she "heard the burst" and was so impressed by the Thompson sub-machine gun she got one for herself. This is a pretty straightforward song and, given that he restricts his comments on the motivations and ethics of mercenaries to "they fought to earn their living / and to help out the Congolese" it doesn't seem likely he'd devote the last line to an opinion about Patty...
Thanks for all the info! One small thing, though is your interpretation of the "bought it" comment, which I think I take even more literally than you do. I always thought she "heard the burst" and was so impressed by the Thompson sub-machine gun she got one for herself. This is a pretty straightforward song and, given that he restricts his comments on the motivations and ethics of mercenaries to "they fought to earn their living / and to help out the Congolese" it doesn't seem likely he'd devote the last line to an opinion about Patty Hearst's political thinking.
it just seems like a throwaway line he stuck in there because it was in the news at the time. He did stuff like that in his songs in the live performances I've heard. You could be right, though, I'm not trying to squabble or anything.
How do these stories with just the slightest grain of truth get started? Warren was not a mercenary. In the mid '70's, he moved to Sitges, Spain. He wound up living and playing regularly at a bar called "The Dubliner". It was owned by a character named David Lindell. Now, Lindell was a former mercenary. Together they wrote , "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner". As far as the final line that reads, " Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson Gun and bought it. I believe "...and bought it" means that after she was kidnapped by the guerrilla group "The Symbionese Liberation Army", she literally "bought it". She "bought it" in the sense of adopting the SLA's beliefs and philosophies. She definitely had not "bought it" in the sense of "buying the farm" or "dying in battle" as some have alluded to. She took part in a bank robbery at the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. She wielded a M1 carbine during the robbery. Later she assumed the pseudonym 'Tania' after Che Guevara's closest female confidant. Psychiatrists said she was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. She was sentenced to 35 years in jail, but her sentence was commuted by Jimmy Carter and she was released from jail after serving a mere 22 months. She was later given a full pardon by Bill Clinton. Most of all, what a great song.
Thanks for all the info! One small thing, though is your interpretation of the "bought it" comment, which I think I take even more literally than you do. I always thought she "heard the burst" and was so impressed by the Thompson sub-machine gun she got one for herself. This is a pretty straightforward song and, given that he restricts his comments on the motivations and ethics of mercenaries to "they fought to earn their living / and to help out the Congolese" it doesn't seem likely he'd devote the last line to an opinion about Patty...
Thanks for all the info! One small thing, though is your interpretation of the "bought it" comment, which I think I take even more literally than you do. I always thought she "heard the burst" and was so impressed by the Thompson sub-machine gun she got one for herself. This is a pretty straightforward song and, given that he restricts his comments on the motivations and ethics of mercenaries to "they fought to earn their living / and to help out the Congolese" it doesn't seem likely he'd devote the last line to an opinion about Patty Hearst's political thinking.
it just seems like a throwaway line he stuck in there because it was in the news at the time. He did stuff like that in his songs in the live performances I've heard. You could be right, though, I'm not trying to squabble or anything.
Yup.
Yup.