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
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I like this song, It's another genius work of a genius musician. Most of the things that they talk about did happen, but I’m not sure if the years on the Congo war or the timeline in general works out. The events do, the mercenaries being hired to fight and bring about political action through fighting. The cia being in it's most whacked-out "do anything to stop the commies" phase, which led it to do at least a little just about everywhere in the world. so on the first level it is about politcal change via violent revolutions. That would be the "Palestine” and so on. On the second level I think that the song owes something to the "headless horseman.” I think that this is intentional because the Thompson fires a .45 acp round, which has a lot of head hurting potential, but not enough to blow your head all the way off. So in “the headless horseman” the horseman was a hessian mercenary fighting against people that weren't his enemies, and fighting for a country that wasn't his. Besides that I think it stops though. The mercenary of Roland and van Owen just about all do what they do for profit. "They fought to earn their living" and van Owen presumably didn't just do the cia a favor in killing Roland. So if it's money that they are fightin for, what fight does Roland carry on? The fight to get rich in war? Or just the fight of soldiers and mercanaries fighting because they can and they can help themselves by doing it? They fight to bring about political change, that is true, but really they just fight for the pay. And that patty hurst, the most notorious picture of her on the public record is her robbing a bank. Sure, robbing a bank for an organization that was trying to bring about violent change, but in robbing a bank she is still just trying to get rich while fighting the political battle.
One other level that I noticed after all these years recently is the actual form of van Owen and Roland's respective assasination attempts on the other...van Owen "blows off Roland's head" only to be stalked down by Roland's headless body. Roland "blows van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg". The subtext that the soldier doesn't need his head, only his body.<br /> <br />
@flamingamo I love the almost "anthem" quality of this song!! But on a historical/lyrical note: Patty Hearst robbing a bank "to get rich" -- I don't think so... She was a very wealthy woman. Now if you had said that she was robbing the bank for the benefit of the SLA I would have bought it (no pun intended) -- but no can do. She was a total victim of the mind control techniques of the SLA, and hence held up the bank - or held the AK-47 while others did the robbing -- because as their prisoner she HAD to.