20 years ago Tom Paxton wrote a little ditty titled "Johnny got a gun". The chorus goes:
Johnny was afraid of dying young;
Everybody he knew had a gun.
So Johnny got a gun,
And every little thing looked cool.
As usual Tom gets it. And then has the talent to put it into song.
Back in 1965 he also wrote "Buy a gun for your son". Quite the cutting commentary on war toys and indoctrinating children into the military mind set. I find it troubling that the shooter at Reynolds HS was quite the fan of weapons and the military and I will lay the blame directly on the culture of patriotic violence that permeates our society.
Lyrics below the Fleur-de-Kos
Lyrics
Johnny Got a Gun
Words and Music by Tom Paxton
Johnny's mum and dad both worked long hours,
They worked on the weekends too.
Johnny was eleven, but they had no notion
Of what Johnny was going through.
Johnny got pushed and Johnny got robbed
And it made him feel chicken to run.
Big kids picked on Johnny every day,
Till Johnny went and got him a gun.
Johnny got a gun, he didn't bring it home;
He covered it with rags and dirt.
On his way to school he looked both ways,
Then he hid it under his shirt.
Johnny was afraid of going to school;
There was always trouble in the halls.
Fights in the boys' room, guns in the lockers,
And little kids bouncing off the walls.
[Cho:]
Johnny was afraid of dying young;
Everybody he knew had a gun.
So Johnny got a gun,
And every little thing looked cool.
First time Johnny flashed his gun,
Everybody backed off fast.
Everybody treated him differently, then.
Johnny felt safe at last.
Johnny had a gun and everybody knew.
Everybody left him alone.
Till he bumped a kid who was coming down the stairs,
And the kid had a gun of his own.
The kid pushed Johnny, Johnny went down,
And the kid had something to say.
Pulled his gun; Johnny shot first,
And he blew the other kid away.
The police came and they took away the gun;
Said he wouldn't need a gun any more.
Took him to the station, sat him in a chair,
And his feet didn't reach the floor.
[Cho:]
Johnny had a hearing, plead self defense,
Prosecutor said, "No way."
Judge said "you're eleven, but you're kill like a man,
And it's gonna be a long, long stay."
Johnny's mum and dad still work long hours,
And knock on the unit door.
Sit with Johnny in the visitor's room,
And his feet don't reach the floor.
[Cho:]
Johnny was afraid of dying young,
Everybody he knew had a gun.
So Johnny got a gun,
And every little thing looked cool.
And his feet don't reach the floor.
Buy a gun for your son
Words and Music by Tom Paxton
Hallelujah, Dads and Mommies,
Cowboys, Rebels, Yanks and Commies
Buy yourselves some real red blooded fun.
If you want to make the grade,
You've got to have a hand grenade,
And a fully automatic G.I. Gun.
[Cho:]
Buy a gun for your son right away, Sir
Shake his hand like a man and let him play, Sir.
Let his little mind expand, Place a weapon in his hand,
For the skills he learns today will someday pay, Sir.
Pound that kid into submission
'Till he's mastered Nuclear Fission
Buy him plastic warheads by the score,
Once he's got the taste of blood,
He's gonna sneak up on his buddies
Starting his own thermo-nuclear war.
[Cho.]
Buy him khakis and fatigues,
And sign him up in little leagues,
Give him calisthenics as a rule.
Once you've banished fear and dread,
Then pat his seven year-old head,
And send him off to military school.
[Cho]
Once he's grown to be a man,
He might get tired of blasting Granny,
Then you'll see a crisis coming on.
Don't get worried, don't get nervous.
Send that kid into the service,
Let him rise into the Pentagon.
[Cho]
At the Pentagon he'll rise.
The President he will advise,
His reputation growing all the while.
With his picture on the wall,
He'll get that long-awaited call,
And press the firing buttons with a smile.
[Cho]