The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Roland was a warrior
From the Land of the Midnight Sun
With a Thompson Gun for hire
Fighting to be done
The deal was made in Denmark
On a dark and stormy day
So he set out for Biafra
To join the bloody fray
Through '66 and 7
They fought the Congo War
With their fingers on their triggers
Knee-deep in gore
The days and nights they battled
The Bantu to their Knees
They killed to earn their living
And to help out the Congolese
Roland the Thompson Gunner
Roland the Thompson Gunner
His comrades fought beside him
Van Owen and the rest
But of all the Thompson Gunners
Roland was the best
So the CIA decided
They wanted Roland dead
That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen
Blew off Roland's Head
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Time Time Time for another week of war
Norway's bravest son
Time stands still for Roland til he evens up the score
They can still see his headless body
Stalking through the night
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson Gun
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson Gun
Roland searched the continent
For the man who'd done him in
He found him in Mombassa
In a bar room drinkin' Gin
Roland aimed his Thompson Gun
He didn't say a word
But he blew Van Owen's body
From there to Johanasburg.
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Talkin about the man
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
The eternal Thompson Gunner
Still wanderin through the night
Now it's ten years later
But he still keeps up the fight
In Ireland, In Lebanon
In Palastine and Berkley
Patty Hurst
Heard the burst
Of Roland's Thompson Gun
And bought it.
From the Land of the Midnight Sun
With a Thompson Gun for hire
Fighting to be done
The deal was made in Denmark
On a dark and stormy day
So he set out for Biafra
To join the bloody fray
Through '66 and 7
They fought the Congo War
With their fingers on their triggers
Knee-deep in gore
The days and nights they battled
The Bantu to their Knees
They killed to earn their living
And to help out the Congolese
Roland the Thompson Gunner
Roland the Thompson Gunner
His comrades fought beside him
Van Owen and the rest
But of all the Thompson Gunners
Roland was the best
So the CIA decided
They wanted Roland dead
That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen
Blew off Roland's Head
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Time Time Time for another week of war
Norway's bravest son
Time stands still for Roland til he evens up the score
They can still see his headless body
Stalking through the night
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson Gun
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson Gun
Roland searched the continent
For the man who'd done him in
He found him in Mombassa
In a bar room drinkin' Gin
Roland aimed his Thompson Gun
He didn't say a word
But he blew Van Owen's body
From there to Johanasburg.
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Talkin about the man
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
The eternal Thompson Gunner
Still wanderin through the night
Now it's ten years later
But he still keeps up the fight
In Ireland, In Lebanon
In Palastine and Berkley
Patty Hurst
Heard the burst
Of Roland's Thompson Gun
And bought it.
Lyrics submitted by palmdogg10, edited by Thisbear, RockyMcNut, Loraqs
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner Lyrics as written by David Eric Lindell Warren William Zevon
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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 Hearst's political thinking.<br /> <br /> 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.