If I Had a Rocket Launcher

If I Had a Rocket Launcher

"If I Had a Rocket Launcher" is a song by Bruce Cockburn, from his 1984 album "Stealing Fire".

The song was inspired by Cockburn's visit, sponsored by OXFAM, to Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico following the military torture campaign of dictator Efraín Ríos Montt. Although Cockburn had occasionally touched on political themes in his earlier songs, "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" was his first explicitly political song to be released as a single, and earned him a new reputation as an outspoken musical activist.

In the song, Cockburn despairs of waiting for a political solution to the crisis, and expresses the desire to take matters into his own hands. Each verse ends with a line stating what Cockburn would do if he had a rocket launcher: in the first verse, "I'd make somebody pay". In the second, "I would retaliate". In the third, "I would not hesitate".

The fourth and final verse ends with the song's most famous and controversial lyric: if he had a rocket launcher, "some son-of-a-bitch would die".

In a later interview, Cockburn stated that the song "is not a call to arms; this is a cry."

Chart performance

Although the song received considerable airplay on Canadian radio in early 1985, many radio stations played an edited version which faded out before the "son-of-a-bitch" lyric was heard. Consequently, the song failed to reach the national Top 40, peaking at #49 on the Canadian charts in the week of March 9, 1985. [ [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9647&volume=41&issue=26&issue_dt=March%2009%201985&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=3p2vga9k0f6fq14h899m1m8rd5 RPM Volume 41 No. 26, March%2009%201985 - RPM ] ]

It did, however, reach the Top 40 in some individual markets — for example, it peaked at #24 on the CHUM Chart in Toronto.

The song also reached #88 on the "Billboard Hot 100" charts in the United States. It was Cockburn's only single besides "Wondering Where the Lions Are" to even reach the Top 100 in that country.

Other notes

During their "Maybe You Should Drive" tour, Barenaked Ladies often inserted the "some son-of-a-bitch would die" lyric into their own song "If I Had $1000000".

Following their album "Rattle and Hum", U2 reportedly rehearsed the song a number of times with the intention to record a cover, although this never materialized.

References

External links

* [http://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/iiharl.html "If I Had a Rocket Launcher"] at The Cockburn Project


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Katyusha rocket launcher — Infobox Weapon name= Katyusha caption= BM 13 launcher based on a ZiS 6 truck, Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev, Ukraine origin= Soviet Union type= Multiple rocket launcher service= 1939– used by= Soviet Union, Russian Federation, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Type 4 70 mm AT Rocket Launcher — Infobox Weapon|is ranged=yes| name=Type 4 70 mm AT Rocket Launcher type=Rocket Launcher origin=flagcountry|Empire of Japan era=WW2 design date=1944 prod design date= serv design date= used by=Imperial Japanese Army wars=World War II spec type=… …   Wikipedia

  • Rocket artillery — is a type of artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars. Types of rocket artillery pieces include multiple rocket launchers. HistoryPre modern historyThe use of rockets as some form of artillery dates back to …   Wikipedia

  • rocket and missile system — ▪ weapons system Introduction       any of a variety of weapons systems that deliver explosive warheads to their targets by means of rocket propulsion.       Rocket is a general term used broadly to describe a variety of jet propelled missiles… …   Universalium

  • Rocket — This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. For other uses, see Rocket (disambiguation). A Soyuz U, at Baikonur Site 1/5 A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engi …   Wikipedia

  • Rocket vessel — A rocket vessel was a ship equipped with rockets as a weapon. The most famous ship of this type was HMS Erebus , which at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 provided the rockets red glare that was memorialized by Francis Scott Key in The Star… …   Wikipedia

  • If I Had $1000000 — Infobox Single Name = If I Had $1000000 Artist = Barenaked Ladies from Album = Gordon Released = 1993, 1996 Format = CD, 12 , 7 , cassette Recorded = 1992 Genre = Alternative rock Length = 4:27 Label = Reprise Records Producer = Barenaked Ladies …   Wikipedia

  • Rocket-propelled grenade — RPG, or rocket propelled grenade, is a loose term describing hand held, shoulder launched anti tank weapons capable of firing an unguided rocket equipped with an explosive warhead. RPG is a transliteration of РПГ, the Russian abbreviation of… …   Wikipedia

  • Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket — For earlier rockets with the same acronym, see 3.5 Inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket and 5 Inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket. Mk 4 mod 10 rocket on display at Volkel Air Base. The Mk 4 Folding Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR), sometimes called the… …   Wikipedia

  • Non-rocket spacelaunch — Non rocket space launch (NRS) is a launch into space where some or all needed speed and altitude is provided by non rocket means, rather than simply using conventional chemical rockets from the ground. A number of alternatives to rockets have… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”