In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
James, come on home
You've been gone too long baby
We can't let our hero die alone
We miss you day and night
You left town to live by the rifle
You left us to fight
But it just ain't right to take away the light
Remember Genie, from the casino
She's still a-waiting in her big brass bed
The boys from your gang are knocking whisky back
Till they get out of hand
And wish they were dead
They're only lonely for the life they led
With their old friend
Oh
James, are you selling your soul to a cold gun?
Where lies your heart?
It's not there in the buckskin baby
It's not there in the gin that makes you laugh long and loud
You're a coward James
You're running away from humanity
You're running out on reality
It won't be funny when they
Rat-a-tat you down
Remember Genie, from the casino
She's still a-waiting in her big brass bed
The boys from your gang are knocking whisky back
Till they get out of hand
And wish they were dead
They're only lonely for the life they led
With their old friend
Oh
James, are you selling your soul to a cold gun?
You've been gone too long baby
We can't let our hero die alone
We miss you day and night
You left town to live by the rifle
You left us to fight
But it just ain't right to take away the light
Remember Genie, from the casino
She's still a-waiting in her big brass bed
The boys from your gang are knocking whisky back
Till they get out of hand
And wish they were dead
They're only lonely for the life they led
With their old friend
Oh
James, are you selling your soul to a cold gun?
Where lies your heart?
It's not there in the buckskin baby
It's not there in the gin that makes you laugh long and loud
You're a coward James
You're running away from humanity
You're running out on reality
It won't be funny when they
Rat-a-tat you down
Remember Genie, from the casino
She's still a-waiting in her big brass bed
The boys from your gang are knocking whisky back
Till they get out of hand
And wish they were dead
They're only lonely for the life they led
With their old friend
Oh
James, are you selling your soul to a cold gun?
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by Mellow_Harsher
James and the Cold Gun Lyrics as written by Kate Bush
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I could be wrong but:
I think this is about a man (James) who leaves his town, where apparently an idolized man, to go to war with his "cold gun." He's supposed to be some sort of hero, but really all the townspeople want him back, because once he's gone, things start to turn awry and unruly without his authority and general rule. So even though he's supposed to be helping them out by fighting in a war for the, he's really only hurting them, as he becomes absent from their lives, which only go downhill.
It seems that James enjoys being in the war, though, maybe because of the pure escape it provides him from real life (even though to most people fighting in a war would seem worse than facing day-to-day chores). The narrator accuses him of being a coward, running away from humanity and reality, and that it won't be funny anymore when the enemy kills him.
So basically, he sells his soul and old life, in which he served as an authoritative figure and man of respect, in order to join a pointless war so he can escape all the routine of life, even though he'll only end up dead. War hurts life at home more than help it, because all of our manly, ruling figures are absent.
Like I said, I could be completely wrong, but I think I'm somewhere along the right track...