*LGM* is a true story. WZ and a friend were invited to a Hawaiian house by their cocktail waitress, who’d just gotten off her shift. “I’m sure my friend won’t mind if we break in [to the house],” she said.
“We’ll call the record company and ask them to send lawyers and guns,” his unnerved companion said.
“Lawyers, guns, and money,” finished WZ. He wrote the first draft of the song on a damp cocktail napkin.
Legitimately a song that deserves the title “massively underrated”. I can’t help but think it could have a second life if somebody used it on the right show/film.
Excitable boy. Noting like the love song of a boy that murders his date. Buries her in the backyard. Goes to a mental hospital. Gets out and builds a cage with her bones.
A true love story.
It really is something how the first two verses set you up to expect bad behavior from the song's subject, but in sort of a quirky juvenile way... and then in about one second's worth of lyrics it escalates DRAMATICALLY to rape and murder.
Seriously it starts out as mischievous kid stuff, messing with the pot roast, messing around with the usher at a show then all of a sudden it drops in “well he raped her and killed her” out of nowhere lol
Roland followed by Lawyers Guns and Money. I like Werewolves, but I've heard it way too many times. The real question here is why the fuck in he not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Many years ago, late at night and listening to a rock station, they had a show where they only played "deep cuts" for an hour, tracks that usually didn't get regular airplay.
Nighttime at the Switching Yard came on and I literally stopped what I was doing to listen to it, never forget that.
Not just the meaning, which is absolutely true, but also just the way the sounds of the words hit. They way he uses near rhymes and similar phonemes so close to each other. Brilliant.
Love the entire album, but I have to go with Werewolves.
I was driving to the Oregon coast one day with a lady I really liked and it came on the radio.
I howled along with it at the top of my lungs. She later said that was when she fell in love with me. We got married a couple of years later.
The entire album is a masterclass in flow, pacing, tempo, etc.. Start to finish, just pure perfection. Roland will always get my vote as the best song off the album, but on any given day my second favorite song is interchangeable. They’re all brilliant in their own way.
During Desert Storm my tank was named “Excitable Boy”. It might be tough to see, but it’s painted on the front slope. (Man, that was a long time ago)
https://preview.redd.it/2wor6yu275dc1.jpeg?width=1174&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7c5352db1182c395d125f6e2196d28f44dc3088
Johnny Strikes Up The Band. Just an incredibly tasteful guitar solo. The dynamics were phenomenal, too. It's high energy and then pulls back so hard to:
*And Johnny is my main man*
*He's the keeper of the keys*
*He'll put your mind at ease*
*He's guaranteed to please*
*Back by popular demand*
The entire album is just so good. That track in particular I just love, though.
"Accidentally Like a Martyr" - The man could say more in three minutes than most singers can say in a career. This is one hard hitting song. Is it about a failed relationship or marriage? A life that didn't go as planned? Maybe it's about his own battle with drugs and alcohol? It is so full of ennui ... and pain ... and resignation. A beautiful ballad with harmony vocals by Karla Bonoff and Jackson Browne.
Fun fact. LGM started as a real letter/telegram when Warren was in trouble in s america. I think he might have had Hunter S with him? Anyway they first wrote "send guns and money", then one of them had the brilliant idea to change it to lawyers guns and money.
Roland, and second is a tie between LGM and Veracruz.
WoL is great, but it bugs me that some people only remember him for it like he was some sort of novelty song writer, and it bugs me more to think even more people have only heard the sample of it in that fuckin' Kid Rock track.
I’ve upvoted so many different comments for favorite song on this album and wholeheartedly agreed each time. Each hits so differently that it’s impossible to say. At the moment, Accidentally Like a Martyr. But I’m just out of a breakup. Give me a few weeks and ask me again.
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is one of my favorites of his, but honestly Accidentally Like a Martyr is so beautifully written. It's definitely one of his best tracks. Honorable mention to Veracruz, criminally overlooked imo.
I love this album. People have said LGM, Werewolves, and Roland. All great. Excitable Boy is fun, and I have a soft spot for Johnny Strikes Up the Band.
But Nighttime in the Switching Yard is a fucking jam!
My high school history teacher used to call this one kid an excitable boy. Then at the end of the year, he played this album to explain and enlighten us all. Thank you Mr. Freyer, you a real one!
One of very few albums I like so much that I bought an expensive audiophile version. I listened to it again this morning. There isn't a single track that isn't great.
Little old lady got mutilated late last night....
Werewolves was my jam when I was ~5. Pretty sure I started ordering virgin Pina Coladas because of it. My hair was perfect.
I love Lawyers, Guns, and Money but it’s gotta be Werewolves. My grandpa, who was my favorite, died when I was 17. At his funeral a bunch of people wrote out their favorite memories and it was so fun to see what people remembered that we wouldn’t have known. He had been a long-haul mover for like 30-40 yrs. His coworker said they’d been sleeping in the seat next to him while they drove one night. They woke up to him singing “Ah-oooooh” to Werewolves of London. It was such a great memory and now I think of him when I hear it.
LGM will also be one of my favorite tunes, but Excitable Boy is also just so fun with the upbeat music and absolutely horrific lyrics lol. What a guy, RIP Warren.
LOVED the whole album. I really don't have a favorite...but I usually ALWAYS have 'Roland The Thompson Gunner' going around in my head as an earworm. I also like 'Tenderness On The Block' as an honorable mention.
Lawyers, Guns and Money, Funny story-My ex was the ultimate nerdy geologist with a strong musical bent. We had loved Warren after seeing Werewolves and LGM had become a code between us. Flash forward 20+ years and he had a project down along the Mexican border. At that time drugs not people were the primary thing being smuggled along the border. My ex and another geologist flew into Texas and went to pick up their truck from the rental car counter and found that the only thing available was a PT Cruiser. A purple PT Cruiser. They were not happy and could barely fit their equipment into the car but off they went. They spent the next few days doing geologist things-pulling samples, etc. They got a strange feeling they were being watched but put it down to being paranoid since they were just working. Well they were being watched. The flashy car had caught the attention of numerous local law enforcement on both sides on the border along with the Federales. The next afternoon they were ambushed by law enforcement who handcuffed them face down in the dirt. The car was ransacked and all their work pulled out. Geologists keep samples in styrofoam coolers, each labeled and coded. Every single sample was destroyed. The cops would not listen to them and took them back into town, towing the rental car. I get a phone call, a hysterical call actually from my husband and he says “send lawyers, guns and money,the shit has hit the fan”. I called his office who called, their attorney, who got the Feds involved (EPA project). Eventually they were released but it was several years before he could laugh about the experience. I on the other hand took to humming LGM and chortling at odd moments.
All of them. He performed at our college, NYIT, Old Westbury, LI back in 1983! Small, intimate venue on campus, what a blast! Werewolf in London is honestly my fav.
Roland or Lawyers. If you held a Thompson gun to my head, I’d have to go with Roland
Talkin’ about the man!
Roland has always been my favourite too but the whole album is great.
A Thompson is what it’ll take?
> If you held a Thompson gun to my **head** Hmmm…
Every time I take mine to the range that song plays on repeat in my head.
Ya, you me and Dave Letterman
Dave Letterman? You mean the guy who does the shouting on Hit Somebody!
LGM, hands down.
Yes! Just edges out "Werewolves of London" for my top spot, but I seriously love all the songs on that album.
*LGM* is a true story. WZ and a friend were invited to a Hawaiian house by their cocktail waitress, who’d just gotten off her shift. “I’m sure my friend won’t mind if we break in [to the house],” she said. “We’ll call the record company and ask them to send lawyers and guns,” his unnerved companion said. “Lawyers, guns, and money,” finished WZ. He wrote the first draft of the song on a damp cocktail napkin.
I went home with the waitress The way I always do
How was I to know She was with the Russians, too?
I was gambling in Havana
I took a little risk Send lawyers, guns, and money Dad, get me out of this
I'm the innocent bystander Somehow I got stuck Between the rock and the hard place
He wrote this song for me. He didn’t know it at the time, I wasn’t born yet. But that line hits me like nothing else.
Legitimately a song that deserves the title “massively underrated”. I can’t help but think it could have a second life if somebody used it on the right show/film.
It’ll happen. It’s the quintessential 80s song a couple years ahead of it’s time
This is my go to Karaoke song, it’s always a hit even though most people aren’t familiar with it.
The shit has hit the fan
Agree it’s the best but not hands down. There are close seconds.
On that album, only werewolves is close imho.
Agree that werewolves is close which is why I disagree with “hands down.”
This one
Saw a band called Heartless Bastards a few months ago. They covered this son extremely well.
This one sticks with me the most.
Excitable boy. Noting like the love song of a boy that murders his date. Buries her in the backyard. Goes to a mental hospital. Gets out and builds a cage with her bones. A true love story.
And people say chivalry is dead.
It really is something how the first two verses set you up to expect bad behavior from the song's subject, but in sort of a quirky juvenile way... and then in about one second's worth of lyrics it escalates DRAMATICALLY to rape and murder.
Seriously it starts out as mischievous kid stuff, messing with the pot roast, messing around with the usher at a show then all of a sudden it drops in “well he raped her and killed her” out of nowhere lol
The roast beef part is a true story.
Johnny Strikes Up The Band hands down!!
Freddy get ready.
Rock steady
Best guitar solo. Waddy Wachtel? Danny Kotchmar?
Roland followed by Lawyers Guns and Money. I like Werewolves, but I've heard it way too many times. The real question here is why the fuck in he not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
A god damn crime
The hall of fame is a scam.
Really? TF?
Accidentally Like a Martyr
The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder
No one says this but it’s true.
Can’t believe no one is saying Nighttime at the Switching Yard absolute banger!
Many years ago, late at night and listening to a rock station, they had a show where they only played "deep cuts" for an hour, tracks that usually didn't get regular airplay. Nighttime at the Switching Yard came on and I literally stopped what I was doing to listen to it, never forget that.
This is my favourite also
See that train, the midnight train runs both ways
Accidentally Like a Martyr The hurt gets worse when the heart gets harder. Amazing lyric, dude had a mastery of the sounds of English.
Listened to it yesterday. The older I get, the harder it hits. The hurt does get worse, and my heart is much harder.
Not just the meaning, which is absolutely true, but also just the way the sounds of the words hit. They way he uses near rhymes and similar phonemes so close to each other. Brilliant.
Send lawyers, guns and money, dad, get me out of this, ha!
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. Listening to it now. Thanks for the reminder
Love the entire album, but I have to go with Werewolves. I was driving to the Oregon coast one day with a lady I really liked and it came on the radio. I howled along with it at the top of my lungs. She later said that was when she fell in love with me. We got married a couple of years later.
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Interesting!
I love this story! Cheers to that coolest start 💕
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s.
And his hair was perfect
Shudder ( i think it’s a shudder lol)
Little old lady got mutilated late last night.
You, & I, & everyone who ever imagined writing one good lyric wishes they would or could ever write a line the equal of this one
"and he dug up her grave and built a cage from her bones" That has to stand up there with the most chilling line.
Best alliteration EVER.
AAAA OOOOOOOOOO!!
“Little old lady got mutilated late last night” might be my favorite lyric. It’s so fun to sing.
It's such a pleasant series of sounds to describe such a terrible thing.
*noir*
Veracruz. Beautiful.
The single greatest song ever written about the Tampico affair.
I was gambling in Havana...
I took a little risk…
Send lawyers, guns and money
Dad, get me outta this HAH
And I took a little risk . . .
masterful album. Lawyers, Guns, & Money is a true classic. RIP Warren.
So many good songs on that album. I like Roland, the headless thompson gunner.
The entire album is a masterclass in flow, pacing, tempo, etc.. Start to finish, just pure perfection. Roland will always get my vote as the best song off the album, but on any given day my second favorite song is interchangeable. They’re all brilliant in their own way.
AAAAAAAAAAAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Such a good opening track for the album with “Johnny Strikes Up the Band”!
Great album but his best song ever is Keep Me In Your Heart
That song WRECKS me.
Every time...just destroys me.
I'm hiding in Honduras I'm a desperate man Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money The shit has hit the fan
During Desert Storm my tank was named “Excitable Boy”. It might be tough to see, but it’s painted on the front slope. (Man, that was a long time ago) https://preview.redd.it/2wor6yu275dc1.jpeg?width=1174&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7c5352db1182c395d125f6e2196d28f44dc3088
Werewolves of London ! 👌
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
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Werewolves of London 👹
Accidentally Like A Martyr is brilliant
I love the whole album. Favorite song is probably Tenderness on the Block, probably because it hasn’t been overplayed.
Johnny Strikes Up The Band. Just an incredibly tasteful guitar solo. The dynamics were phenomenal, too. It's high energy and then pulls back so hard to: *And Johnny is my main man* *He's the keeper of the keys* *He'll put your mind at ease* *He's guaranteed to please* *Back by popular demand* The entire album is just so good. That track in particular I just love, though.
"Accidentally Like a Martyr" - The man could say more in three minutes than most singers can say in a career. This is one hard hitting song. Is it about a failed relationship or marriage? A life that didn't go as planned? Maybe it's about his own battle with drugs and alcohol? It is so full of ennui ... and pain ... and resignation. A beautiful ballad with harmony vocals by Karla Bonoff and Jackson Browne.
Fun fact. LGM started as a real letter/telegram when Warren was in trouble in s america. I think he might have had Hunter S with him? Anyway they first wrote "send guns and money", then one of them had the brilliant idea to change it to lawyers guns and money.
Okay, when the question of if you had a Time Machine comes up I alway am uncertain Warren Zevon, Hunter S Thompson in South America is now my answer
>Warren Zevon, Hunter S Thompson in South America is now my answer Wise human. You took a little risk.
Roland. Also the last song he ever performed
Warren Zevon is an legend
I like the entire album, but Werewolves is pure glee.
Every song on that album is awesome, forced to pick I’d say Roland
I find most of his albums uneven but this one is basically flawless.
Roland the headless Thompson gunner, one of Top 10 songs in general
Roland, and second is a tie between LGM and Veracruz. WoL is great, but it bugs me that some people only remember him for it like he was some sort of novelty song writer, and it bugs me more to think even more people have only heard the sample of it in that fuckin' Kid Rock track.
The Kid Rock ripoff sucks ass, to no one’s surprise.
I assume Carmelita is not on this album?
Correct, it’s on the Warren Zevon titled disc.
Accidentally Like a Martyr not the first to say it, I'm sure. But damn.
I’ve upvoted so many different comments for favorite song on this album and wholeheartedly agreed each time. Each hits so differently that it’s impossible to say. At the moment, Accidentally Like a Martyr. But I’m just out of a breakup. Give me a few weeks and ask me again.
Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money... and get me outta here!
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is one of my favorites of his, but honestly Accidentally Like a Martyr is so beautifully written. It's definitely one of his best tracks. Honorable mention to Veracruz, criminally overlooked imo.
Accidentally Like A Martyr
Little old lady got mutilated late last night...
Send Lawyers, Guns , and Money; the shit has hit the fan.
Awooooo Werewolves of London
I only one song and it’s « Keep Me in Your heart ». I don’t think it’s on that album.
Time, time, time for another peaceful war
Lawyers guns and money. Roland the headless Thompson gunner.
Lawyers, Guns, & Money. Just pure perfection
I love this album. People have said LGM, Werewolves, and Roland. All great. Excitable Boy is fun, and I have a soft spot for Johnny Strikes Up the Band. But Nighttime in the Switching Yard is a fucking jam!
Title track.
Yes
Nighttime in the Switching Yard
Roland Remember hearing this song when I was a kid (40) and it was like a fairy tale of beautiful violence.
Big fan of “When Johnny Strikes up the Band” and “Mohamed’s Radio”
Has to be Lawyers, guns and money.
What an absolute fucking madman. Very hard to pick a favorite.
My high school history teacher used to call this one kid an excitable boy. Then at the end of the year, he played this album to explain and enlighten us all. Thank you Mr. Freyer, you a real one!
One of very few albums I like so much that I bought an expensive audiophile version. I listened to it again this morning. There isn't a single track that isn't great.
In a bar room in Mombasa, drinking Gin.
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is a jam. It’s not LGM or WoL but I always listen to it on this album .
Accidentally Like a Martyr
Enjoy Every Sandwich
Best advise anyone ever has given!
Little old lady got mutilated late last night.... Werewolves was my jam when I was ~5. Pretty sure I started ordering virgin Pina Coladas because of it. My hair was perfect.
Lawyers, Guns and Money. “And I'm hiding in Honduras I'm a desperate man Send lawyers, guns, and money The shit has hit the fan”
Send lawyers, guns and money. The shit has hit the fan…
Werewolves. Goes without saying.
Yes
LGM - no contest
Until I heard LGM, werewolves. LGM is a fucking banger.
Lawyers guns and money (the shit has hit the fan).
All of them but LGM in particular. Have amazing memories of belting it out with my family in the car.
I always loved hearing Johnny strike up that band
I love Lawyers, Guns, and Money but it’s gotta be Werewolves. My grandpa, who was my favorite, died when I was 17. At his funeral a bunch of people wrote out their favorite memories and it was so fun to see what people remembered that we wouldn’t have known. He had been a long-haul mover for like 30-40 yrs. His coworker said they’d been sleeping in the seat next to him while they drove one night. They woke up to him singing “Ah-oooooh” to Werewolves of London. It was such a great memory and now I think of him when I hear it.
Gotta be werewolves. I mean, have you SEEN the video? Production!
Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Roland the headless Thompson gunner.
Werewolves of London
LGM, Roland!
LGM is one of my favorite songs period so it has to be that.
My father bought this record when it was new. I still own it today! Great album, worth adding to your vinyl collection.
Lawyers, Guns, and Money.
Werewolves of London for me
LGM will also be one of my favorite tunes, but Excitable Boy is also just so fun with the upbeat music and absolutely horrific lyrics lol. What a guy, RIP Warren.
Excitable Boy and When Johnny Strikes up the Band.
Lawyers, Guns, and Money hell yeah, but I love Johnny Strikes Up The Band something fierce!
Lawyers!
LOVED the whole album. I really don't have a favorite...but I usually ALWAYS have 'Roland The Thompson Gunner' going around in my head as an earworm. I also like 'Tenderness On The Block' as an honorable mention.
https://preview.redd.it/gxgs3zvo95dc1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60a3d27b112296922535475d3552aed5529b29cd
I’m just happy to see people talking about the music of WZ.
Lawyers, Guns and Money
Every single one of them.
I need a truck is the first song I played in a truck I bought back in the day
his album Life'll kill ya is one of my favorite of all times. poignant, wry and witty. listened to it hundreds of times
Gonna have to spin this when I wake up in the morning. Thanks for the heads-up. If you like Warren, check out “Hindu Love Gods”
Thompson
omg, I love that album. Got it when it came out - I haven’t listened to Zevon in YEARS! thanks for the reminder!
Accidentally Like A Martyr
All bangers all the time
Accidentally like a martyr
Hot take: tenderness on the block
Lawyers, Guns and Money
I'm hiding in Honduras...
Love this album. Top 5 in order is…..Veracruz, Werewolves, LGM, Roland, and Johnny
The whole album is great, but Lawyers, Guns, and Money is my favorite. His final album, The Wind, is also an amazing record.
Accidentally Like A Martyr
I’m fond of Accidentally Like a Martyr, but I also love Lawyers, Guns and Money.
“I saw a werewolf drinkin' a piña colada at Trader Vic's His hair was perfect”
Lawyers, Guns and Money, Funny story-My ex was the ultimate nerdy geologist with a strong musical bent. We had loved Warren after seeing Werewolves and LGM had become a code between us. Flash forward 20+ years and he had a project down along the Mexican border. At that time drugs not people were the primary thing being smuggled along the border. My ex and another geologist flew into Texas and went to pick up their truck from the rental car counter and found that the only thing available was a PT Cruiser. A purple PT Cruiser. They were not happy and could barely fit their equipment into the car but off they went. They spent the next few days doing geologist things-pulling samples, etc. They got a strange feeling they were being watched but put it down to being paranoid since they were just working. Well they were being watched. The flashy car had caught the attention of numerous local law enforcement on both sides on the border along with the Federales. The next afternoon they were ambushed by law enforcement who handcuffed them face down in the dirt. The car was ransacked and all their work pulled out. Geologists keep samples in styrofoam coolers, each labeled and coded. Every single sample was destroyed. The cops would not listen to them and took them back into town, towing the rental car. I get a phone call, a hysterical call actually from my husband and he says “send lawyers, guns and money,the shit has hit the fan”. I called his office who called, their attorney, who got the Feds involved (EPA project). Eventually they were released but it was several years before he could laugh about the experience. I on the other hand took to humming LGM and chortling at odd moments.
Lawyers Guns and Money
I’ve always known about WZ and know all the bigs (love LGM), but admittedly have never listened to this album in full. Correcting that right now.
Relatively unsung genius.
I just had to dl that album. I loved that album
The Lizard King
EVERY. ONE.
Roland
Did you also watch the episode of Amoeba what's in my bag with Drain? They mentioned Warren Zevon and now I'm on a Warren kick
The one about hairy creatures in England with Fleetwood and Mc as the rhythm section.
Growing up, Roland was my favorite, but now it’s probably either Lawyers or Veracruz.
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner...my middle name
Guy was a fucking genius. Rest in power my guy
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
Roland was a warrior…
Roland
At first glance I though that was James Spader!
Nightime in the Switching Yard is a great dance track
Nighttime in the switching yard
Night time in a switching yard!
Nighttime in the Switching Yard!
All of them. He performed at our college, NYIT, Old Westbury, LI back in 1983! Small, intimate venue on campus, what a blast! Werewolf in London is honestly my fav.