I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun

Last updated
"I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun"
I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun.jpg
Dutch picture sleeve
Single by Cat Stevens
B-side "School is Out"
Released24 March 1967
Recorded23 January 1967
Studio Decca, London
Genre
Length2:16
Label Deram
Songwriter(s) Cat Stevens
Producer(s) Mike Hurst
Cat Stevens singles chronology
"Matthew and Son"
(1966)
"I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun"
(1967)
"A Bad Night"
(1967)
Audio
"I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" on YouTube

"I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun" is a song that Cat Stevens wrote, composed, and recorded in 1967, and was produced by Mike Hurst of Decca Records's recently added Deram Records label. It was released as a 45 in the UK, reaching number 6 in the UK Singles Chart, [1] and it was featured on U.S pressings of his debut album Matthew and Son.

Contents

Personnel

Subject

The song's protagonist is a young man who means to obtain a gun, out of frustration with his grinding, unfulfilling work and the lack of respect he apparently receives from his co-workers. The selection can be perceived as a kind of sequel to "Matthew and Son."[ citation needed ]

"I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" was recorded on 23 January 1967 together with "When I Speak To The Flowers", "The Tramp", "Hummingbird" and "Lady", all of which appeared on Steven's debut album Matthew and Son . [2] The song was written, composed, and originally released in the middle 1960s, years before workplace violence and school shootings became a major problem in the United States.

Charts

Song

YearChartUK Chart Position
1967 UK Singles Chart [1] No. 6

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat Stevens</span> British musician (born 1948)

Yusuf Islam, commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion streams. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in his career, Islamic music. Following two decades in which he performed only music which met strict religious standards, he returned to making secular music in 2006. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brotherhood of Man</span> British pop group

Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me".

<i>Matthew and Son</i> (album) 1967 studio album by Cat Stevens

Matthew and Son is the debut studio album by British-Emirati singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in March 1967.

<i>New Masters</i> 1967 studio album by Cat Stevens

New Masters is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in December 1967 by Deram Records as a follow-up to the highly successful debut album, Matthew and Son.

<i>Mona Bone Jakon</i> 1970 studio album by Cat Stevens

Mona Bone Jakon is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in April 1970 on the Island Records label in the United Kingdom and on A&M in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Gonna Make You Love Me</span> 1968 single by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations

"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a soul song most popularly released as a joint single performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations for the Motown label. This version peaked for two weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in the United States, selling 900,000 copies in its first two weeks, and at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1969.

<i>Procol Harum</i> (album) 1967 studio album by Procol Harum

Procol Harum is the debut studio album by English rock band Procol Harum. It was released in September 1967 by record label Deram in the US, following their breakthrough and immensely popular single "A Whiter Shade of Pale". The track doesn't appear on the UK version of the album, but was included on the US issue. The UK version of the album was released in December 1967 by record label Regal Zonophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Love My Dog</span> 1966 single by Cat Stevens

"I Love My Dog" is a song written by Cat Stevens, and was his first single, appearing the following year on his debut album Matthew and Son. Stevens later acknowledged that he had essentially written the lyrics to the music of American jazz multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef's "The Plum Blossom", from his 1961 Eastern Sounds. Stevens indicated that he "told Yusef Lateef about it, gave him a big cheque, and in fact, started paying him royalties." The song is now released with credits that include Yusef Lateef.

"Here Comes My Baby" is a song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. It is well known for being an international hit for the Tremeloes in 1967.

<i>Izitso</i> 1977 studio album by Cat Stevens

Izitso is the tenth studio album released by the British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens in April 1977. After the lacklustre Numbers, the album proved to be his comeback. The album updated the rhythmic folk rock and pop rock style of his earlier albums with the extensive use of synthesizers and other electronic music instruments, giving the album a more electronic rock and synthpop style, and anticipating elements of electro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild World (song)</span> 1970 single by Cat Stevens

"Wild World" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. It first appeared on his fourth album, Tea for the Tillerman, recorded and released in 1970.

Leslie David Reed was an English songwriter, arranger, musician and light-orchestra leader. His major songwriting partners were Gordon Mills, Barry Mason, and Geoff Stephens, although he wrote songs with many others such as Roger Greenaway, Roger Cook, Peter Callander, and Johnny Worth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father and Son (song)</span> 1970 single by Cat Stevens

"Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny.

"Let's Get Together", also known as "Get Together" and "Everybody Get Together", is a song written in the mid-1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers, from psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. A hit version by the Youngbloods, included on their 1967 debut album The Youngbloods, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.

<i>Images 1966–1967</i> 1973 compilation album by David Bowie

Images 1966–1967 is a 1973 compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It comprises his 1967 self-titled debut album for Deram Records and various singles and B-sides recorded for Deram between 1966 and 1967.

Mike Hurst is an English musician and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew and Son</span> 1966 single by Cat Stevens

"Matthew and Son" is a song written and released by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens in 1966. Following his discovery by producer and manager Mike Hurst, Stevens debuted professionally in the music business with the release of his single "I Love My Dog" in September 1966. The song's surprising commercial success established his idiosyncratic songwriting style and extended his contract with Deram Records. "Matthew and Son" was musically inspired by a previous song he had written, while the lyrics were inspired by his girlfriend at the time who worked a lot. Musically, the song is a baroque pop song with both brass and string arrangements while the lyrics tells the tale of the titular company exploiting their timid workers. "Matthew and Son" was recorded on 1 December 1966 at Decca Studios in London with Hurst producing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady D'Arbanville</span> 1970 single by Cat Stevens

"Lady D'Arbanville" is a song written and recorded by Cat Stevens and released in April 1970. It subsequently appeared on his third album, Mona Bone Jakon, released later that year. It was his first single released after signing a contract with Island Records, with the encouragement of his new producer, Paul Samwell-Smith, fostering a folk rock direction. "Lady D'Arbanville" has a madrigal sound, and was written about Stevens' former girlfriend, Patti D'Arbanville, metaphorically laying her to rest.

Vic Coppersmith-Heaven is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his production work with the Jam.

"Let Me Sleep Beside You" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was recorded on 1 September 1967 at Advision Studios in London and marked the beginning of Bowie's working relationship with producer Tony Visconti, which would last for the rest of Bowie's career. A departure from the pop and music hall-influenced material of Bowie's 1967 self-titled debut album and other singles for Deram Records, the song displays a more rock-oriented sound with a cello arrangement from Visconti. The impressionist lyrics also depart from Bowie's prior works, describing love using the act of sleeping together rather than through emotional attachment. The song was rejected by Deram for release as a single, purportedly due to the risqué title. It remained unreleased until 1970's The World of David Bowie compilation.

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 529. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  2. Tracy, John (1988). Matthew And Son (CD). United States: Deram. 820 560-2.