The obvious interpretation is a retelling of the day when Charles Whitman took a hunting rifle to the top of the tower on the campus at Univ. Texas/Austin in 1963, and started killing people until he himself was finally killed.
But...Chapin adds plenty more. Far more than anyone could know about Whitman. Basically, he turns it into a kind of generalized "rebel-against-the-world" type of tale--someone for whom life has been worse than a joke, has been tragedy and treachery and disappointment and worse from Day One. Someone who is rebelling against everyone and everything--justice and mercy be damned.
As such, this song is about a lot more than just Charlie Whitman. With appropriate adjustments, it could be about the Columbine duo, Son of Sam, whoever. ...NOT about Bin Laden or the 9/11 terrorists, though; these are people with a goal, however twisted. This is a song about someone whose only goal is to protest, and to assert himself--to make damn sure he's noticed.
The obvious interpretation is a retelling of the day when Charles Whitman took a hunting rifle to the top of the tower on the campus at Univ. Texas/Austin in 1963, and started killing people until he himself was finally killed.
But...Chapin adds plenty more. Far more than anyone could know about Whitman. Basically, he turns it into a kind of generalized "rebel-against-the-world" type of tale--someone for whom life has been worse than a joke, has been tragedy and treachery and disappointment and worse from Day One. Someone who is rebelling against everyone and everything--justice and mercy be damned.
As such, this song is about a lot more than just Charlie Whitman. With appropriate adjustments, it could be about the Columbine duo, Son of Sam, whoever. ...NOT about Bin Laden or the 9/11 terrorists, though; these are people with a goal, however twisted. This is a song about someone whose only goal is to protest, and to assert himself--to make damn sure he's noticed.
There aren't many songs out there like this one.