Loaded Gun in the Closet Lyrics
and another one in the dresser drawer
just in case the one in the closet didn’t make a big enough hole.
and his lunch in a box sitting there by the kitchen door.
She’d make sure he had everything he needed
and hug his neck and tell him how much she loved him
and it was beautiful.
You should have seen it.
just the way she liked it
and sit down and enjoy the quiet of the house all alone,
but, by two-o-clock or so every afternoon
the quiet would start getting to her and she’d watch
the clock until he came back home.
when he came home every evening
was a couple of beers and a couple of minutes
to cuss about his day.
So she’d fix him a nice hot supper
while he ranted and raved about one thing or the other.
And she never once told him what he was going on about
didn’t add up to a thing.
And she never touched that gun in the closet.
It was his and it was there just because he wanted it to be.
She didn’t get out much, so she never knew just what it was
that made him so afraid.
Most men would say she wasn’t much to look at.
And they all would say she’d be a lot better off
if she cared a little more about what they all think.
She could have a life of her own if she had a little pride,
some silicone implants, and another man on the side.
But she’s got a loaded gun in the closet.
And it’s there anytime she wants it.
And her one and only man knows it and
that’s why he put it there in the first place.
Everytime I hear this song, I come to a different conclusion as to who the gun is meant for...and whether it was ever used. Does she shoot him? Does she shoot herself? Or 30 years from now, will that same gun, with the same bullets, still be in the same spot in the closet. I hope we never find out. It's what makes the song what it is.
I love this line, though: She didn’t get out much, so she never knew just what it was that made him so afraid.
the gun is definitely put there for her... but what she does with it isn't made clear on purpose. he just knows she'll need it sooner or later, whether it's killing him or killing herself.
The gun is to keep that woman in her place. What is he is afraid of is that she will leave him. She knows it and that is why she is the too perfect wife that doesn't do anything but what he wants.
She and the gun are his property one and the same, and both are kept safe in their place. One will never leave without the other.
He's afraid that she'll leave her because he knows he doesn't deserve her, but he also knows that he needs her. He keeps a loaded gun in the closet because he knows that, since she is so wonderful, she would only ever actually leave him if she were incredibly angry, perhaps during an argument...angry enough to shoot him. If she ever leaves him, he wants her to kill him because he won't want to live.
He's afraid that she'll leave her because he knows he doesn't deserve her, but he also knows that he needs her. He keeps a loaded gun in the closet because he knows that, since she is so wonderful, she would only ever actually leave him if she were incredibly angry, perhaps during an argument...angry enough to shoot him. If she ever leaves him, he wants her to kill him because he won't want to live.
Although perhaps he doesn't appreciate all she does for him, but he similarly does not appreciate his own life because he is with this...
Although perhaps he doesn't appreciate all she does for him, but he similarly does not appreciate his own life because he is with this unattractive women who he doesn't love, despite her devotion to him. As such, he understands that she would want to kill him, but he also does not particularly want to live.
Just my interpretation. I love the Truckers. Their poetry is incredible.
The very first time I heard this song, I thought it had a happy ending (the gun was in the closet for the wife's protection). The second time I heard it a more sinister thought entered my mind (the gun was in the closet for the wife to put to her own head). Still not sure if either interpretation is correct.
DBT rocks...nuff said.
I think the second interpretation is right. The first one just doesn't seem like DTB. Either way, it's a great song.
I didn't think about that one yet, I always thought that gun was for her to put a hole in his head when he did something for which she couldn't love him anymore... That was his present to her for being always there for him, a security that he would be there for her too or he would be killed... Something like that.
I think the gun is there because the husband is suicidal without the will to pull the trigger - he's "hoping" his wife will shoot him.
The gun is his. She never touched it. I've always thought he shot himself with it, and the gun becomes hers. She keeps it just in case she decides to do the same.
I must have missed the suicide/murder hints -- I didn't get that at all. To me, it's just a simple song about people with very simple lives. Seems songs aren't written about 'boring' people like this. The gun is almost romantic -- she knows he keeps it for some reason, but it's also there for her -- just in case whatever "it was that made him so afraid" would make her use it, even though "she didn’t get out much, so she never knew just what it was."
The gun in the closet is for her to use on herself. As much as she realizes how meaningless his life is, he realizes much more how empty hers is, and that it's just a matter of time before she wants out. The cruel irony is that doesn't realize it -- until the end the whole song is from her perspective and about how silly his job and complaining is. It's a trick ending to the song (well, not just the song) that is truly harrowing.