(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs Lyrics

Lyric discussion by RogerRyan 

Cover art for (A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs lyrics by Robyn Hitchcock

The song is inspired by the "Dirty Harry" film MAGNUM FORCE (1973) which starred Clint Eastwood as the titular vigilante cop and featured Hal Holbrook playing the corrupt police lieutenant "Briggs". In fact, the song title is a line of dialog from the film spoken by Eastwood. Hitchock uses the characters in the film to comment on anger control issues, especially in regards to men lashing out at women (hence, the presumed reference to Mel Gibson in the third verse).

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