Sniper (song)

"Sniper" is a ballad written by Harry Chapin and first released on the album "Sniper and Other Love Songs" in 1972.

Overview

The 9-minute, 55-second song is performed on guitar, bass, and sparse electric guitar. It is based on the 1966 Texas University shooting with some fictional accounts taken. In the song, the actual sniper, Charles Whitman, is not mentioned by name nor is the location revealed. The victims' names have also been changed.

The song begins with a man climbing tower on a university campus and begins shooting at people on the streets below. Throughout the song, the tempo changes several times. The beginning describes the sniper walking climbing the stairs of the tower, "two bulky suitcases hang from his hands." The song alternates between this fast, tense intro and slower, more retrospective sections, including interviews with people who had known the sniper from classes or around town. Finally, a slow section describes the poor relation between the sniper and his mother, who had ignored him as a child. In the end, the sniper is killed by a SWAT team which has climbed the tower. The snipers last words, "I was, I am, and now I will be" lend insight into the psychology of the sniper, who has been on a lifelong quest for self actualization.

External links

* [http://harrychapin.com/music/sniper.shtml Lyrics]
* [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/06/155601.php "I Will Be": The Horror of Harry Chapin's "Sniper" -- Sean T. Collins]
* [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/harrychapin/albums/album/184584/review/5946314/sniper_and_other_love_songs Review of "Sniper And Other Love Songs"]