John Cale- "Gun" (a pulp music video)

A quickie video I made from a bunch of detective pulp covers and John Cale's "Gun", a gritty noir song if I've ever heard one.

There's some great American pulp art here. Some of the cover situations made me laugh, like the one with the clown shooting the gorilla. The titles are great, too: "Drunk, Disorderly, and Dead", "The Corpse Pays Cash", "Alcoholics Calamitous", "Murder by the Carton", and "Tall, Dark, and Dead" are my favorites.



"Gun" by John Cale

Me and my partner we work on the run
The quick try to get quicker
And the creepers get hung
Now its you that got wasted tonight on the job
One lost his liquor
And the other lost his hand

Ten sticky thumb prints on the door and the sink
But nothin saw nothin - just smell the stink
Five hundred mugshots and a hundred to one
Four forgotten and the rest just wont come

When youve begun to think like a gun
The rest of the year has already gone
When youve begun to think like a gun
The days of the year have suddenly gone

(well) blood on the windows and blood on the walls
Blood on the ceiling and down in the halls
And the papers keep downing on everything I burned
And the people getting restless but theyll never learn

I picked up a doctor - hes good with a knife
Says anaesthetics a waste of his time
Works in a hurry but always worthwhile
Knows they wont be back for a long long time

Top of the staircase was ready to fall
We were still waiting downstairs in the hall
Watch out for big mama, shell set you on fire
Or go for your neck with the chicken wire

When youve begun to think like a gun
The days of the year have suddenly gone

Category:

Music

Tags:

• John
• Cale
• Gun
• detective
• pulp
• pulps
• magazine
• crime
• guns
• Don't
• Believe
• In
• Giraffes

[elps84]

wow - this one takes me back. thanks!

(can remember shoplifting this lp)

[MARDLtransmit]

LOL, thanks! Glad I could bring back the memories :)

[allgoraro]

Love this--have it on an old tape of his! wonderful job.

[MARDLtransmit]

Glad you like it... I still think the sound is too low, myself.

[dixgun]

Cool! Five stars!

[MARDLtransmit]

Thank you!

[RolandWieffering1]

Two that got wasted tonight on a job..

One lost his liqor the other lost his hand..

Picked up a doctor he's good with a knife........

He knows they won't be back for a long long time...

That takes me back years and years and years.

That were some good ol' times

[unconsciouspilot]

great tune, I saw Cale do this live.....

[castingtherunes]

Can never get enough John Cale.

[juankenon]

@elps84

I always wondered how you guys did it back then, an LP isn't exactly inconspicuous...

[Pfletch83]

Who in their right fucking mind disliked this tune?

[loverofthebigt9]

BRIAN ENO AND JOHN CALE !

[TheWendyHour]

Classic !!!!

[muhrvis]

Very cool! Thanks for the neat vid!

[dakarlion1]

thanks for posting this pulp music video. A Favourite John Cale song.

[NYCPulpHero]

@Refrescospepito fuck you