HAPPYNESS IS A WARM GUN
John Lennon - Paul McCartney
Album track from the album The Beatles (white album). Time - 2:43. Released in U.S.A. Nov 22, 1968.
Recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, London, England, Sept 23–26, 1968. Produced by George Martin (official), Chris Thomas (actual, uncredited). Engineered by Geoff Emerick.
Released in the days when the censors were looking for hidden drug meanings in practically every song. Banned in some places for that reason, it had nothing to do with drugs. It was about...well...what the title says, guns, with some sexual reference thrown in. George Martin had left for holidays, and left Chris Thomas to produce this track. Paul and George have stated this is their favorte song on the white album
. -Larry-
John Lennon - double-tracked lead/backing vocal, electric guitar |
JOHN LENNON - 1993:The Beatles: A Celebration"I thought, "What a fantastic, insane thing to say." A warm gun means that you've just shot something. [...] It was put together from bits of about three different songs and just seemed to run the gamut of many types of rock music. [...] I consider it one of my best. It's a beautiful song, and I really like all the things that are happening in it." JOHN LENNON - 1972:Hit Parader"They all said it was about drugs, but it was more about rock 'n roll than drugs. It's sort of a history of rock 'n roll ... I don't know why people said it was about the needle in heroin. I've only seen somebody do something with a needle once, and I don't like to see it at all." |
JOHN LENNON - Anthology
"Happiness Is A Warm Gun was another one which was banned on the radio – they said it was about shooting up drugs. But they were advertising guns and I thought it was so crazy that I made a song out of it. It wasn't about 'H' at all."
JOHN LENNON - 1980:Playboy
"No, it's not about heroin. A gun magazine was sitting there with a smoking gun on the cover and an article that I never read inside called "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." I took it right from there. I took it as the terrible idea of just having shot some animal."
JOHN LENNON - All We Are Saying
"On, well, by then I'm into double meanings. The initial inspiration was from the magazine cover. But that was the beginning of my relationship with Yoko and I was very sexually oriented then. When we weren't in the studio, we were in bed. "
JOHN LENNON - 2000:The Beatles: Off the Record
"The first half, "She's not a girl who misses much," was just something I was writing vaguely connected with Yoko just after first meeting her and these were all different segments of songs that I wrote altogether and stuck them all in one piece. Just like a collage, instead of an album like Pepper. This was all done in one song and it went through all the different styles of rock 'n' roll and it was also about a gun and not about heroin or anything. In those days I had no idea about heroin. I'd never seen it or knew anybody that had touched it or taken it. "
VIDIO LYRIC VIDEO
NEVER PLAYED IN CONCERT She's not a girl who misses much Do do do do do do do do, oh yeah She's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand Like a lizard on a window pane The man in the crowd with the multicoloured mirrors On his hobnail boots Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy Working overtime A soap impression of his wife which he ate And donated to the National Trust Down I need a fix 'cause I'm going down Down to the bits that I left uptown I need a fix 'cause I'm going down Mother Superior jump the gun Mother Superior jump the gun Mother Superior jump the gun Mother Superior jump the gun Mother Superior jump the gun Mother Superior jump the gun Happiness is a warm gun (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot) Happiness is a warm gun, mama (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot) When I hold you in my arms (Oo-oo oh yeah) And I feel my finger on your trigger (Oo-oo oh yeah) I know nobody can do me no harm (Oo-oo oh yeah) Because happiness is a warm gun, mama (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot) Happiness is a warm gun, yes it is (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot) Happiness is a warm, yes it is, gun (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot) Well, don't you know that happiness is a warm gun, mama? (Happiness is a warm gun, yeah)