God Gave Me A Gun

Album: Americano! (2004)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Clyne: "I was very conflicted. The time that this record was written was in the shadow of a war and then during a war. I know how I feel about war and how a lot of people feel about war, and it was hard to say if it was either just or unjust. As an artist, I had to report. These are tough times to make a call. If anybody wants to say I'm vacillating, they're welcome to, but these are times when black and white often collide and coalesce and right and wrong are not easy to pick apart. I think you can hear a lot of confusion in the record."
  • At the insistence of his manager, the band recorded and released the song in March 2003 as the United States prepared for war. "I had the song, but I wasn't planning on putting it out," Clyne says. "Our manager, Peter Lubin, said, "If you have any backbone as an artist, you'll put it out now and take a stand with the way you feel. God bless him for making me do that and we did. We recorded it and put it out the day after as a free download on the Web site. We pressed singles for radio, but the climate in America was so volatile and so polarized about the war that no radio station would touch it. It got shunned all the way around." (From Thomas Bond, Get Out, January 16, 2004. Get more in our Roger Clyne interview. His website is azpeacemakers.com.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")Song Writing

Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."