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Annie Get Your Gun Lyrics
She goes for her medical
She’s passed, it’s a miracle
She’s up over the moon
She whistles nonsense tunes
She wants drinks for everyone
She’s found a chord that she can strum
Emotions leaking out
Her paint’s all over town
What’s that she’s playing?
(annie get your gun)
What’s that she’s taking?
(the song has to be sung)
She’s gone electric
(annie wipe them out)
That’s unexpected
(strum that thing and shout)
Don’t pull that trigger
(annie get your gun)
Don’t shoot that singer
(you’re shooting number one)
He’s not into miracles
Sees life all too cynical
The cat has got his tongue
Now she bangs on his drum
He says pull the other one
Bells ring, look what you have done
Emotions leaking out
Her paint’s all over town
She’s passed, it’s a miracle
She’s up over the moon
She whistles nonsense tunes
She wants drinks for everyone
She’s found a chord that she can strum
Emotions leaking out
Her paint’s all over town
What’s that she’s playing?
(annie get your gun)
What’s that she’s taking?
(the song has to be sung)
She’s gone electric
(annie wipe them out)
That’s unexpected
(strum that thing and shout)
Don’t pull that trigger
(annie get your gun)
Don’t shoot that singer
(you’re shooting number one)
Sees life all too cynical
The cat has got his tongue
Now she bangs on his drum
He says pull the other one
Bells ring, look what you have done
Emotions leaking out
Her paint’s all over town
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As close to perfect as a pop song can be.
I may be wrong, since Chris Difford claims not to know what the song was about, but to me it reads as being about the morning after pill or about an abortion. "Annie", a male singer's girlfriend, gets the medical results she wants after having found out via test she was pregnant. She decides to rid herself of the burden, and the singer (Glenn Tilbrook probably) reacts. Phrase words like "leaking", "medical", phrases like "don't pull the trigger" and "she wants drinks for everyone" strongly suggest a probably Seventies abortion as the storyline. Glenn is ambivalent because it's "unexpected" and "shoots that singer". Eliminates him and his seed.
Again, I may be wrong, but that's what it feels like.
@fuzzbox22 I believe it is more likely that she is joining the military. This would involve a physical as well as a gun. The reason her male friend is not overjoyed is because he is worried about her. I believe this is a more likely explanation, as joining the military is more likely to be celebrated than getting an abortion. A woman may be relieved by finding a safe and legal option, but not likely to be out painting the town.
@fuzzbox22 I believe it is more likely that she is joining the military. This would involve a physical as well as a gun. The reason her male friend is not overjoyed is because he is worried about her. I believe this is a more likely explanation, as joining the military is more likely to be celebrated than getting an abortion. A woman may be relieved by finding a safe and legal option, but not likely to be out painting the town.
I see 'she's passed it's a miracle' as maybe she was suspecting being pregnant but wasn't, not necessarily terminated. Maybe little Cecil bailed out on his own. Now she's roaming again. Tight song, top 5 of Squeeze for me.
I feel compelled to share my thoughts on this song. Since hearing it when it first came out, I never had any trouble understanding its meaning. The song has two main influences. 1. The title obviously comes from the Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun," about the life of Annie Oakley who was a sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. The songs from the play were re-recorded by Doris Day in 1963. This album would have been in the band members parent’s record collections and they would have been thoroughly familiar with it as kids. 2. The album by heart "Dreamboat Annie" released in 1975, a few years before the release of the Squeeze song. The album cover was a photo of Ann and Nancy Wilson, which would have inspired any teenage boy to write a song. Which was Ann and which was Nancy? It didn't really matter. The Squeeze song is about a guitar playing Annie and her relationship with the singer.
The topic of the medical exam is unclear, it might be an unwanted pregnancy or a feared cancer diagnosis. In any case, the fear is over, she has a new outlook on life and starts by celebrating. “She whistles nonsense tunes,” like the songs from “Annie Get Your Gun.” “She's found a chord that she can strum,” - she learns to play guitar like Nancy Wilson from Heart. “ Her paints all over town,” comes from the expression “painting the town red,” which means drinking from bar to bar. “She's gone electric, that's unexpected,” again refers to Nancy Wilson. It was very unusual for a woman to play electric guitar at that time. “Don't pull that trigger. Don't shoot that singer,” refers to another song from the play, “You Can't Get a Man With a Gun.” The final verse starting “he's not into miracles,” is acceptance that a relationship with Nancy Wilson is not possible and this is all just a fantasy. “Pull the other one” means he feels if he can't have Nancy, he'll take Ann. But this is also fantasy.
So that's my take on the song.
Simply awesome.